WATCH: IDF completes Ali Taher security zone after destroying Hezbollah tunnels

The IDF has destroyed Hezbollah's underground infrastructure on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, completing the establishment of Israel's security zone there, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement on Thursday.

According to the statement, the operation was carried out under the direction of Netanyahu and Katz and targeted underground infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

The infrastructure was a strategic terrorist network built over the course of two decades with Iranian funding and planning, the two said. The terrorist infrastructure and command center on the ridge were intended to serve as a base for an operation to conquer the Galilee and provided observation and fire control over Metulla and Kiryat Shmona.

Its destruction completes the IDF's achievement of operational control over the Ali al-Taher ridge, both above and below ground, according to the statement.

IDF troops are preparing to defend the area and prevent Hezbollah from returning, Netanyahu and Katz said.

The IDF will remain in the security zone, continue destroying terrorist infrastructure, and thwart any attempt by Hezbollah to reestablish itself in the area or rebuild its capabilities, they added.