The IDF said Friday morning it destroyed a major underground tunnel network under the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon, describing it as a central command complex for Hezbollah's Badr unit. The military said the network, built over two decades and funded by Iran, included multiple levels and was located about 6 kilometers from Metula. The destruction follows weeks of IDF control and clearance of the area.
The IDF on Friday morning provided a detailed operational account of the destruction of a major Hezbollah underground tunnel network beneath the Beaufort Ridge, confirming that the network served as a central command center for the group's Badr unit. The military said the network, built over two decades with Iranian funding, consisted of multiple levels and was located approximately 6 kilometers from the Israeli town of Metula.
The thread of reports on this operation began at 00:10 Jerusalem, when analyst Yair Goldblatt reported that the IDF had reached at least one of seven tunnels running from south of Beaufort Castle to north of Nabatieh, constructed with Iranian funding over two decades, and was awaiting a political decision to demolish them. Shortly thereafter, at the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the IDF had destroyed the tunnel network using approximately 700 tons of explosives in response to a Hezbollah ceasefire violation involving an explosive drone strike on an IDF engineering vehicle. The IDF then issued its own statement confirming the destruction and providing the additional details about the network's role as a command center and its Iranian backing.
The Beaufort Ridge tunnel network has been a focus of IDF operations for weeks. As The Zioneer reported earlier, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir toured the area and described the underground complex as a decades-long project; the IDF also uncovered attack maps of northern Israel within the tunnels. The network was part of a broader Iranian-funded infrastructure designed to facilitate a large-scale invasion of Galilee communities.
It remains unclear whether the destruction of this network fully neutralizes the underground infrastructure in the Beaufort area. The analyst report had mentioned seven tunnels, but the IDF statement did not specify the number of tunnels destroyed. The operational status of other Hezbollah tunnel networks in southern Lebanon is not detailed in the current reporting.
9 developments
- StrongIDF clears Hezbollah tunnel network beneath Beaufort Ridge, advances near Nabatieh
- ConfirmedIDF releases footage of massive tunnel demolition in southern Lebanon
- DevelopingChannel 14 granted exclusive tour of Hezbollah tunnel network beneath Beaufort Ridge
- StrongIDF drone tracks Hezbollah operatives emerging from Beaufort tunnel, airstrike kills several
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