During a visit to the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir stated that the military controls key areas both above and below ground, describing Hezbollah as exhausted and defeated in every battle. He called on the Lebanese army to uphold the ceasefire agreement and warned that the IDF is prepared to launch a rapid offensive if the truce is violated. Zamir praised Division 36 troops for crossing the Litani River and surprising the enemy.
The Chief of Staff's latest remarks, reported by i24NEWS at 14:59 Jerusalem, provide additional detail on the scope of Hezbollah's underground infrastructure at the Beaufort Ridge — a network built over decades with Iranian backing — and reiterate that IDF forces now control both the ridge and the tunnels beneath it. The statement came during a visit by Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who also called on the Lebanese army to uphold the ceasefire agreement and warned that the IDF is prepared to launch a rapid offensive if the truce is violated. This follows Zamir's earlier tour of the same area, during which he descended into a major tunnel network and said Hezbollah is exhausted and defeated in every engagement, as The Zioneer first reported at 14:59 Jerusalem on Sunday.
Over the course of the day, The Zioneer published multiple updates from the Beaufort Ridge tour. At 14:59 Jerusalem, initial reports said Zamir toured the underground network and warned of a rapid offensive if the ceasefire is violated. Within the same minute, subsequent versions reported that the ridge is "saturated" with Hezbollah terror infrastructure, that the 36th Division crossed the Litani River, and that forces now control key areas above and below ground. These assessments were repeated across successive updates, with Zamir stating that Hezbollah relies on its Iranian patron. The claims were consistently attributed to the military's own statements and i24NEWS, with no independent on-record confirmation from Hezbollah or Lebanese officials.
As The Zioneer reported on Friday June 19, IDF troops have full freedom of action across southern Lebanon and are actively demolishing major Hezbollah tunnel systems at the Beaufort Castle and Ali Taher ridge, described by the military as the group's central command centers. On Thursday June 25, the IDF said it eliminated Hezbollah operatives who posed a threat to troops at the Ali al-Taher Ridge, and an Israeli analyst noted that dozens of Hezbollah operatives remain trapped in the underground complex beneath the ridge, with troops preventing their exit — a situation described as potentially dangerous for soldiers above ground.
It remains unclear whether the Lebanese Armed Forces have taken steps to clear Hezbollah operatives from areas outside IDF control, as Zamir demanded. The IDF has not reported any compliance by Lebanese troops. The military's assessment that the ceasefire is fragile, and its stated readiness to transition rapidly to offensive operations, have been repeated across multiple statements but have not been independently verified. The status of Hezbollah operatives reported trapped in the underground network beneath the ridge also remains open.
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