Israel pulverizes with 1,100 tons of explosives a network of Hezbollah tunnels

BeirutIsrael has used more than 1,100 tons of explosives to blow up one of Hezbollah's largest underground military infrastructures in southern Lebanon. The network of tunnels, over two kilometers long, housed, according to the Israeli army, a command center for the Badr unit, weapons depots, missiles, and drones. The detonation was of such magnitude that the United States Geological Survey recorded a 4.1 magnitude earthquake in southern Lebanon.

The explosion culminates a four-month Israeli operation to take control of Ali al-Taher, a mountain range about 600 meters high located about fifteen kilometers from the border and north of the Litani River. From there, Nabatieh, the Iqlim al-Tuffah region, and various communication routes in the south are dominated. For Israel, the position allows reversing the direction of the threat: if Hezbollah used the territory north of the Litani to threaten northern Israel, now Israeli forces can monitor and pressure this same Lebanese territory.

For Hezbollah, Ali al-Taher was an exception. After the 2024 war, the movement had opted not to defend fixed positions at any cost and to bet on a more mobile strategy. But this hill had a different value due to its altitude, underground infrastructure, and connection with other positions. In June, a Hezbollah official had assured that it would be defended “to the last man.” Finally, the group withdrew after weeks of Israeli bombing and surveillance.

Israel announced the “operational control” of Ali al-Taher on September 3 and has now destroyed its underground infrastructure. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have made it clear that troops will remain in the area to prevent the return of Hezbollah. The issue is that the framework promoted by the United States provides for exactly the opposite: the Israeli withdrawal, the deployment of the Lebanese army, and the disarmament of Hezbollah. Washington had proposed that Ali al-Taher pass into the hands of the Lebanese army. Now the position is under Israeli control and the withdrawal is linked to negotiations. Now the hill also arrives at the negotiating table. Lebanon and Israel will meet again in Rome next week, in a new round of talks sponsored by the United States.

How far does Israel want to go?

The Lebanese army has meanwhile reinforced its presence in Nabatieh, fearing that Israel could use the control of Ali al-Taher to expand its security zone to the north. The issue is no longer just who controls a hill, but also what Israel will do with the advantage it has gained and how far it intends to extend it. And while Israel exhibits the result of the operation, Hezbollah maintains a significant silence. The movement has not officially acknowledged the loss of the position nor explained what happened to the fighters who remained in the tunnels.

Lebanon needs Israel to withdraw and for the army to be able to regain control of the territory. Israel says it will not withdraw as long as Hezbollah remains armed. And Hezbollah has lost one of its most important fixed positions north of the Litani. Ali al-Taher may end up being important not so much for what Israel has destroyed under the mountain as for what it does from now on above it. The dispute over the territory, the disarmament of Hezbollah, and the future of the Israeli presence in southern Lebanon remain open.