War in Lebanon: Israel announces destruction of Hezbollah tunnels

afp/dpa | The Israeli army has destroyed underground positions of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the action and announced on Platform X that the consolidation of the security zone in southern Lebanon had been completed. There was initially no official confirmation of the destruction from the Lebanese side.

A week ago, the army took control of the Ali al-Taher ridge, both above ground and underground. According to Israeli media reports, Hezbollah fighters had holed up there for weeks. There had been repeated fighting in the area.

The Israeli army announced on the Telegram platform that the military had completely destroyed the underground infrastructure in the area of ​​the strategically important mountain range after extensive preparations. This means that Hezbollah's ability to use this infrastructure to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers has been definitively eliminated.

The mayor of the Lebanese city of Nabatieh, Abbas al-Din, reported an extremely violent explosion at the ridge. The tremors were felt throughout southern Lebanon, even in the capital Beirut, around 70 kilometers away. They would have felt like a mild earthquake for the residents.

As journalists from the AFP news agency reported, violent explosions were heard and tremors were felt in the south of Lebanon. The Lebanese state news agency also reported a “huge explosion” on the hill range in the Nabatije region. As the US Earthquake Observatory USGS announced, the tremors were as strong as a magnitude 4.1 earthquake.

Netanyahu and Katz said it was a “strategic terror infrastructure” that had been built with Iranian funding over more than two decades. Soldiers would remain there to prevent enemy forces from returning there.

According to the army, the now destroyed infrastructure stretched for more than two kilometers. Dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles and drones as well as machine guns, anti-tank missiles and hundreds of mines and explosive devices were found inside the underground facilities.

According to the Army, a command center was located within the underground infrastructure. The complex included weapons depots and living quarters that would have enabled terrorists to stay underground for long periods of time. The information cannot be independently verified.

The Ali al-Taher hill chain near Nabatija is considered strategically important because of its location; it offers a view of large parts of the region. The ridge is a contested area in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and has been the focus of Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon in recent months. The area has been an important area of ​​operations and influence for Hezbollah for years and is therefore a recurring flashpoint in the conflict with Israel.

The Israeli army said soldiers would continue to operate in the security zone in southern Lebanon to destroy terrorist infrastructure in the area. Despite an actual ceasefire, Israel and Hezbollah repeatedly accuse each other of violating the agreement. Israel's army remains stationed in southern Lebanon and carries out attacks almost daily.

Lebanon was drawn into the Iran war in March when Tehran's ally Hezbollah attacked Israel from Lebanon. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground offensive. According to Lebanese figures, more than 4,300 people have been killed by Israeli attacks since then. Israel's army has declared a ten-kilometer stretch of southern Lebanon a "security zone" in which it has stationed soldiers.

With US mediation, Israel and Lebanon agreed on a framework agreement at the end of June that is intended to pave the way for a final peace agreement between the two neighboring countries. Hezbollah rejects the agreement.