JERUSALEM, — The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it destroyed a major Hezbollah underground complex beneath the Ali al-Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon on Thursday evening, September 10, using more than 1,100 tons of explosives.
The ridge is located about 15 kilometers (10 miles) north of the Israeli border near Nabatieh and has long been a contested area. The IDF said the tunnel network served as the nerve center of Hezbollah’s Badr regional division, which operates in southern Lebanon north of the Litani River.
The main underground infrastructure stretched for more than 2 kilometers and was part of a wider system of eight tunnels in the Ali al-Taher and Beaufort Castle area, with a combined length of 5.4 kilometers. According to the IDF, the complex was built over roughly two decades with Iranian funding and planning.
The facility included command centers, weapons storage rooms, generators, living quarters, showers and a kitchen, allowing fighters to remain underground for extended periods. Israeli troops said they recovered dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles and drones, as well as firearms, anti-tank missiles, hundreds of mines and other explosive devices.
The operation followed a weeks-long Israeli siege. Forces from the IDF’s 36th Division surrounded the area, carried out localized ground clearing and conducted intelligence-driven airstrikes. By early September, the military said it had cleared the tunnels of Hezbollah operatives, with some killed and others fleeing. Reports during the siege said more than 100 Hezbollah fighters and IRGC advisers were trapped inside, while Hezbollah attempts to resupply them by drone were unsuccessful.
Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported a powerful blast at the ridge, with tremors and the explosion heard across Nabatieh and surrounding areas. Monitoring reports recorded a 4.1-magnitude tremor associated with the blast.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the operation completed the consolidation of a security zone in the area. They said Israeli forces now have operational control of the ridge both above and below ground.
According to the Israeli government, the site had been intended as a staging base for operations toward the Galilee and provided observation and fire-control capabilities over communities including Metula and Kiryat Shmona. Israeli forces will remain in the area to prevent Hezbollah from returning or rebuilding its capabilities.
The IDF described the facility as strategic infrastructure used to support Hezbollah’s planning and attacks and said its destruction completed the neutralization of the tunnel network.
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