A powerful blast echoed across southern Lebanon’s Ali al-Taher ridge, and minutes later seismographs picked up a 4.1 magnitude tremor — as Israel said it had destroyed major tunnels used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group beneath the strategic high ground.
“This is strategic terrorist infrastructure that was built over two decades, with Iranian funding and planning,” a joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
The destruction “completes the achievement of operational control over the Ali al-Taher ridge, above and below ground”, the statement added.
The United States Geological Survey meanwhile reported a 4.1 magnitude tremor in the area, after Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israel carried out a “massive explosion” on the Ali al-Taher ridge in the Nabatieh region, “causing tremors and a powerful rumble”.
Journalists in south Lebanon also said they heard “huge explosions” yesterday.
“We were sitting there and everything shook,” Joelle Fares, who recently moved to Majayoun, said.
According to the Israeli army, the Hezbollah installation stretched more than two kilometres underground and was stocked with “dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as machine guns, dozens of anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of mines and explosive devices”.
The military said the subterranean complex also housed a command centre belonging to Hezbollah’s “Badr” unit.
A military official said some of the militants who had operated around the ridge had fled the area, while others were “eliminated by aerial strikes and artillery fire”.
Israel announced last week that it had captured the Ali al-Taher ridge.
In March, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East war in support of its backer Iran.
Violence had eased after the understanding reached between Iran and the United States in June, followed by an agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
But in recent days, strikes have grown more intense.
During negotiations, the US, which sponsored the talks, proposed that the Lebanese army take control of the Ali al-Taher ridge, but Hezbollah refused, a source close to the parties said.
Beirut authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,300 people in total since March, and Israeli forces continue to occupy a so-called “security zone” in the south.
