The IDF released footage overnight showing troops searching and then destroying a large Hezbollah tunnel complex beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon. The military estimates around 50 Hezbollah operatives were hiding in the tunnels when a ceasefire took effect in June, and says no members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were present. IDF troops killed several operatives during the operation, including some who opened fire from tunnel entrances, and discovered roughly a dozen bodies inside. The tunnel network has been destroyed, and the IDF will reorganize its deployment around the ridge while maintaining control via surveillance and firepower.
Overnight the IDF released footage and new details on the destruction of the Hezbollah tunnel complex beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon, the latest chapter in a thread The Zioneer published Thursday 22:03 Jerusalem. Troops killed several operatives while securing the complex — including some who opened fire from tunnel entrances — and later found roughly a dozen bodies inside, the military said. The IDF estimates about 50 operatives were hiding in the tunnels when the June ceasefire took effect and, contrary to recent reports, says no members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were inside. Some operatives are believed to have escaped, it acknowledged. With the network destroyed, the military will reorganize its deployment around the ridge while holding it through surveillance and firepower.
The thread traced the story from a single initial report to on-record IDF confirmation backed by footage: a network built over two decades with Iranian funding — holding dozens of rockets, anti-tank missiles and the Badr unit's command complex — had been destroyed. An Israeli official told Israel Hayom dozens of bodies had been found; the IDF released demolition footage; it then reported nearly 50 operatives killed after refusing to surrender, and 1,100 tons of explosives used to demolish the network. Bodycam and drone footage followed, with graphics of the network beneath the Beaufort and Ali Taher ridges.
The ridge has been a focal point for months. On Tue Aug 11, The Zioneer cited Arab reports of the IDF cutting water supplies to trapped operatives; on Sun Aug 16 it reported the IDF launching an operation to capture the ridge; and on Sat Sep 5 it carried Amit Segal's account of the fortress — buried 50 meters into solid rock — falling after a summer siege. On Thu Sep 10, 21:15 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported a joint prime minister–defense minister statement describing the network as a strategic asset built with Iranian planning and funding, intended as a staging ground for a planned invasion of the Galilee.
Still open: the IDF has not published a consolidated accounting. An earlier Israeli official account to Israel Hayom spoke of 'dozens of bodies'; the military now reports about a dozen found, several operatives killed in the operation, and an unknown number believed to have escaped. The IDF's IRGC clarification also sits uneasily with The Zioneer's Aug 16 report noting possible IRGC officer presence in the area.
7 developments
- StrongIsraeli source: IDF destroys Hezbollah underground HQ on Ali Taher ridge; 50 operatives inside, most killed
- StrongNew details: IDF used 1,100 tons of explosives to destroy Hezbollah's Ali Taher ridge underground complex
- DevelopingIDF eliminates Hezbollah operatives threatening troops at Ali al-Taher Ridge
- StrongIDF to reduce forces, draw new security line closer to border after destroying Hezbollah tunnels on Ali Taher ridge
Source and signal
- Open-source intake