Israel Says It Cleared Hezbollah Fighters From Tunnels Under Southern Lebanon Ridge
International AffairsWell-covered
|
The Facts
- Israel's military said Thursday it had cleared Hezbollah fighters from two underground routes beneath the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon.
- The military said its 36th Division had achieved operational control of the ridge both above and below ground.
- Israel said some Hezbollah fighters in the complex were killed and others fled during the operation.
- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday that the mission was completed and the tunnels cleared.
- Katz said Israeli forces would remain on the ridge until Hezbollah is disarmed.
- Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the Israeli announcement, and Lebanese officials made no immediate statement.
- Reuters reported that Iran warned the United States last month it would respond forcefully to a full Israeli offensive on the ridge.
- Officials briefed on the warning said Iranian military personnel were positioned on the ridge alongside Hezbollah fighters.
- The fighting around the ridge continued despite a ceasefire announced in June.
Context
What is the Ali al-Taher ridge and why is it contested?
It is a cluster of hills roughly 15 km (10 miles) from the Israeli border, named after a Shi'ite scholar whose shrine sits at its summit Arab News,Al Bawaba. The ridge commands a view over a broad sweep of southeastern Lebanon, and Lebanese security sources say Hezbollah is believed to have built an underground command center and weapons stores beneath it Arab News,haaretz.com,i24NEWS English. Reporting has described it as one of the most contested pieces of ground in the Israel-Hezbollah war Express Tribune,ynetnews.
What did the Israeli military say it found underground?
The IDF said the infrastructure was built over roughly two decades and was planned and funded by Iran Jerusalem Post. It said troops found command rooms, weapons storage rooms, generators, living quarters, showers and a kitchen inside the complex Jerusalem Post,Saudi Gazette. Israel said work to neutralize the underground network was still ongoing Arab News,Al Bawaba.
What is the risk of wider escalation?
Officials told Reuters that Tehran's warning was delivered in mid-August, with two regional officials saying it passed through Oman, and that U.S. pressure had prompted Israel to postpone an assault haaretz.com,Middle East Eye,Modern Diplomacy. Separately, Katz said an Iranian attack on Israel would remove restraints on Israeli strikes against Iran's military, civilian and energy infrastructure newKerala.com,ynetnews.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Both read the ridge as cleared but not settled: troops stay tied to a disarmament condition, and Iran's warning makes the escalation risk real, not rhetorical.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about an army staying on foreign ground after declaring the mission done, or about disarmament that only holds when soldiers verify it themselves.
- Why they won’t converge
- The divide is trust-in-institution: one side counts a ceasefire and diplomatic pressure as the only durable guarantee, the other counts only disarmament its own soldiers can verify, so proving the tunnels cleared settles nothing between them.
- Watch for
- Watch whether Tehran acts on the warning it delivered to Washington around mid-August now that the ridge is cleared, and whether Katz's stated trigger — an Iranian attack freeing Israel to strike Iran's energy infrastructure — is invoked.newKerala.com, haaretz.com
How left and right read it
The burden of justification belongs to the party that keeps troops on foreign ground after saying the job is done. Katz declared the mission complete and the tunnels cleared, but Israeli forces are to remain on the ridge until Hezbollah disarms — a condition tied to an occupation that, as The New York Times notes, "could test a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon that Hezbollah was not a party to." With Iran warning Washington it would answer a full offensive there, the case for diplomacy over an entrenched presence is the stronger one.
“The Israeli operation threatens to exacerbate tensions with the Lebanese government and military, which have struggled to minimize Hezbollah's sway, and could test a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon that Hezbollah was not a party to.” — The New York Times
Security earned by one's own soldiers is the only kind that holds, and the clearing of two tunnel routes beneath the Ali al-Taher ridge shows what that costs: fighters killed, others scattered, and operational control taken above and below ground. Because Iranian personnel were positioned there alongside Hezbollah, the threat was never merely local, so Katz is right that the troops stay until Hezbollah is disarmed — disarmament proven, not promised.
The receipts — all 44 sources
Wire services (5)
Independent coverage (39)
Facts first. Then every angle.
The day’s biggest stories in one short brief — the facts everyone agrees on, then the competing values behind the headlines. Free in your inbox.