The IDF destroyed a large Hezbollah tunnel network beneath the Beaufort Ridge overnight, using approximately 700 tons of explosives, according to a report by Abu Ali Express. The operation was carried out in response to a Hezbollah ceasefire violation: a drone attack on an IDF engineering vehicle in the Ali Taher ridge area two and a half days ago.
The IDF destroyed a large Hezbollah tunnel network beneath the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon overnight, using approximately 700 tons of explosives, according to a report by Abu Ali Express. The operation was carried out in response to a Hezbollah ceasefire violation: a drone attack on an IDF engineering vehicle in the Ali Taher ridge area two and a half days ago, the source said. The IDF confirmed the destruction and the use of 700 tons of explosives in official footage released at 09:17 Jerusalem Friday morning.
As The Zioneer reported, the demolition was first announced in a joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz at 00:06 Jerusalem Friday, describing the tunnel network as a key Hezbollah command center built with Iranian funding over two decades. At 01:12 Jerusalem, the IDF identified the complex as a central command center for Hezbollah's Badr unit and specified that the operation followed weeks of operational control and was triggered by a Hezbollah ceasefire violation on Thursday — later identified as the drone attack on the engineering unit. The official footage released at 09:17 provided visual confirmation of the 700-ton demolition.
The systematic dismantling of Hezbollah's subterranean assets in southern Lebanon has been ongoing for weeks. As The Zioneer reported in June, the IDF had earlier targeted the main underground headquarters on the Ali Taher ridge, where a tank crew was killed seizing the complex. The use of hundreds of tons of explosives was described as unprecedented by journalist Amit Segal in a June 28 report. The Beaufort tunnel network, built over 20 years with Iranian funding, was designed to facilitate a large-scale ground assault into northern Israel.
No casualty figures from the demolition have been released. The IDF statement did not detail the specific drone attack that triggered the operation, though it was cited by the source as a direct violation of the ceasefire.
4 developments
- StrongIDF clears Hezbollah tunnel network beneath Beaufort Ridge, advances near Nabatieh
- StrongIDF completes capture of Ali Taher ridge, renames it Ma'ale Tahara
- StrongIDF eliminates Hezbollah operative near tunnel shaft, strikes vehicle threat at Ali al-Taher Ridge
- StrongNew activity reported at Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon
Source and signal
- Open-source intake