The IDF spokesperson announced that the strategic Ali Taher ridge network, built over two decades with Iranian financing, has been fully cleared. All terrorists who were inside the infrastructure were killed or fled, despite Hezbollah's pledge to defend it at any cost. The military acknowledged heavy losses in the fighting. Separately, Lebanon's Seismological Center reported that the explosions on the ridge registered a 4.1 magnitude earthquake.
IDF declared the operation on the strategic Ali Taher ridge complete this evening, announcing that all Hezbollah terrorists present in the underground infrastructure were killed or driven out. The announcement, made at approximately 21:26 Jerusalem time, came as the military acknowledged heavy losses among its forces during the prolonged ground combat. The explosions from the large-scale demolitions registered a 4.1 magnitude earthquake, according to Lebanon's Seismological Center.
The Zioneer reported at 21:26 that the IDF had completed the destruction of a 5.4-kilometer tunnel network beneath the ridge using more than 1,100 tons of explosives. The network comprised eight tunnels that served as a command-and-control center for Hezbollah's 'Badr' unit. In a separate statement at the same hour, the IDF spokesperson said Hezbollah "abandoned its men to die inside" the network, directly refuting the terror group's earlier vows to defend the position at any cost.
The ridge—a 697-meter dominant height overlooking Nabatieh—had been a focal point of IDF operations north of the Litani River for weeks. As The Zioneer previously reported, Hezbollah's 'Imad' underground missile city was captured after a three-month siege (Sep 7), and the group's last defensive line on the ridge collapsed in early September, with dozens of operatives killed or wounded attempting to escape (Sep 2). Hezbollah had claimed on June 19 that it was repelling Israeli advances on the ridge, but Israeli forces steadily consolidated control through sustained ground operations and demolitions.
The IDF did not provide a specific casualty figure for Israeli forces. The military assessed that bodies of Hezbollah operatives who did not survive the fighting remain inside the underground complex. No further details on Israeli losses have been released.
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