An Israeli source told Sky News Arabic that the IDF detonated Hezbollah's main underground command center on the Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon while approximately 50 Hezbollah operatives were inside, most of whom were killed. The source said Israel has no intention of withdrawing from the ridge and will redeploy forces to prevent any approach to the destroyed area. The source denied any Iranians were present at the site and said the military found large quantities of weapons there.
An Israeli source told Sky News Arabic that the IDF destroyed Hezbollah's main underground command center on the Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon while approximately 50 Hezbollah operatives were inside, most of them killed. The source said Israel will not withdraw from the ridge and will redeploy forces to prevent any approach to the destroyed compound, denied the presence of Iranian personnel, and said large quantities of weapons were found inside. The report comes hours after the operation received its official confirmation: at 08:06 Jerusalem this morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the IDF had completed the destruction of the strategic facility on the ridge.
That announcement capped a months-long operation The Zioneer has tracked since June. On Friday, June 19, at 09:32 Jerusalem, we reported that the IDF identified the ridge's tunnel network as the main headquarters of Hezbollah's Badr unit, after Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, commander of the 52nd Battalion, and three crew members were killed in an ambush; Hezbollah fired 147 rockets, 20 drones and 9 anti-tank missiles in response. On Saturday, June 20, at 23:09 Jerusalem, the IDF disclosed that the fallen tank crew had been capturing the group's primary underground headquarters, with dozens of operatives trapped inside. Parallel Israeli reports followed: Walla said dozens remained trapped while the IDF kept official ambiguity (Tuesday, July 14, 09:21 Jerusalem); Maariv reported the collapse of Hezbollah's last defense line on the ridge, with dozens hit in tunnel escape attempts (Wednesday, September 2, 15:17 Jerusalem). What began as military disclosures became, this morning, an on-record confirmation by Israel's top leadership.
As The Zioneer reported in June, the subterranean complex was described as Hezbollah's 'nerve center' in southern Lebanon, housing the command of the terror group's Badr unit. The Netanyahu–Katz statement said the underground infrastructure — built over two decades with Iranian funding as a staging base for the conquest of the Galilee — was destroyed in full, completing Israeli operational control over the ridge above and below ground. Hezbollah, for its part, described Israeli strikes in the ridge area as 'blatant' ceasefire violations, for the third time, in late June.
Still unverified: the 50-operative figure and the casualty toll rest solely on the unnamed Israeli source's account to Sky News Arabic, and the IDF has not officially commented beyond the morning statement. It is also unclear whether the 50 include the operatives previously reported trapped in the complex or are additional fighters.
3 developments
- StrongIDF destroys Hezbollah tunnel network under Ali Taher Ridge, releases footage
- DevelopingIDF says it struck over 80 Hezbollah targets in Nabatieh and Beqaa, dozens killed
- DevelopingIDF eliminates Hezbollah operatives threatening troops at Ali al-Taher Ridge
- DevelopingIDF says it struck 70+ Hezbollah sites, eliminated seven operatives from underground route
Source and signal
- Open-source intake