The IDF's destruction of the Hezbollah tunnel network in the Beaufort Ridge area was reportedly a direct response to an explosive drone that struck an IDF engineering vehicle. The tunnel network was destroyed using 700 tons of explosives, as The Zioneer reported earlier today. The timeline of the drone strike remains unclear.
The Zioneer reported earlier today (Friday, 00:10 Jerusalem) that the IDF destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel network under the Beaufort Ridge using 700 tons of explosives, in response to a ceasefire violation. A subsequent report, published Friday morning, now specifies that the immediate trigger for that operation was an explosive drone that struck an IDF engineering vehicle. The timeline of the drone strike remains unclear, and the report did not disclose whether the drone was launched by Hezbollah.
The initial announcement was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz at 00:10 Jerusalem, stating the operation was in response to a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire by Hezbollah. The IDF later released footage of the destruction, and Israeli and Lebanese media published additional documentation. The tunnel network, built over two decades with Iranian funding, served as the central command center for Hezbollah's Badr unit, located approximately six kilometers from Metula.
As The Zioneer reported in June, the Beaufort Ridge network was not a defensive precaution but an offensive staging ground for a planned invasion of Galilee communities. The IDF has been systematically dismantling Hezbollah's underground infrastructure in southern Lebanon, with the 36th Division and the Yahalom combat engineering unit leading the operations.
The details of the drone strike — including the location, time, and whether there were casualties — have not been disclosed. The report does not specify whether the drone strike was a Hezbollah attack. The full extent of the remaining tunnel network also remains unclear.
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