Israel Says It Has Taken Operational Control of Ali al-Taher Above and Below Ground
Israel says it has taken operational control of Ali al-Taher, including Hezbollah’s underground complex beneath the strategic ridge. Israeli troops say they cleared two major tunnel routes after weeks of fighting and are now working to demolish the facility.
The Israeli military says it has achieved operational control of the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, including Hezbollah’s underground infrastructure beneath it, after several weeks of ground operations. The IDF said troops from its 36th Division cleared two major tunnel routes, killing some Hezbollah fighters while others fled.
According to the IDF, the underground complex served as a strategic command center for Hezbollah’s Badr regional division and had been developed over roughly two decades with Iranian support. Israeli forces said they found command rooms, weapons storage areas, generators, living quarters, showers and kitchens inside the tunnels, allowing fighters to remain underground for extended periods.
The ridge has become one of the most important positions in the current Lebanon war. Located around 15 kilometers from the Israeli border and rising roughly 600 meters above sea level, Ali al-Taher overlooks key areas of southern Lebanon and sits along routes linking Hezbollah positions closer to the border with the Iqlim al-Tuffah region farther north.
The announcement is particularly significant because Iran had warned Washington that a full Israeli offensive on Ali al-Taher could trigger a major Iranian response. Reuters reported only hours earlier that Hezbollah fighters, and allegedly Iranian Revolutionary Guard personnel, remained inside the area. Israel denied the presence of IRGC forces and says the underground routes have now been cleared.
Israel is now working to demolish the underground complex. The military also indicated that once the operation is complete, it intends to establish a new defensive posture rather than necessarily maintain a permanent presence on the ridge, leaving the question of longer-term territorial control open.
The fall of Ali al-Taher would represent one of Israel’s most important tactical gains of the war, depriving Hezbollah of a fortified underground position that had become a symbol of resistance to Israeli expansion in southern Lebanon. It also raises the stakes politically, as the ridge sits at the center of stalled U.S.-brokered negotiations over Hezbollah’s disarmament and Israel’s eventual withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
