IDF releases footage of Hezbollah infrastructure below Ali al-Taher ridge after destroying tunnels

The IDF released new footage and details on Friday from its latest operation in southern Lebanon, in which it secured and destroyed Hezbollah's underground infrastructure on the Ali al-Taher ridge.

Among the items released by the military was a clip from the body camera of a Yahalom Unit soldier inside one of the underground tunnels, as well as drone footage from inside the tunnels, and a video of two terrorists being killed.

Hezbollah attempted to build a heroic myth around the fighting on the Ali al-Taher ridge, portraying it in the style of the “Battle of Karbala.” However, at the conclusion of a determined military operation by fighters from the IDF’s 36th Division, the Commando Brigade, and the Yahalom special engineering unit, Hezbollah was defeated, and Israel captured and destroyed the organization’s most important facility in southern Lebanon.

The IDF said on Friday morning that what remains of the Ali al-Taher ridge, beneath which Iran spent two decades building Hezbollah’s last and most significant line of defense in southern Lebanon, is “nothing more than a sandbox.” Hezbollah and Iran suffered a major blow overnight. The operation to capture the ridge lasted months, as dozens of terrorists, estimated to number around 50, were entrenched inside the tunnels.

The destruction of the 14 tunnel routes on the ridge, stretching about 5.4 kilometers in total, was given the IDF codename “Chisel of Flames.”

The commander of the 36th Division, Brig.-Gen. Yiftach Norkin, told troops shortly before the tunnels were detonated on Thursday, “The Commando Brigade and the Yahalom Unit, together with the Fire Brigade, Golani, and Brigade 7 forces, led one of the most complex operations we have ever carried out, under the command of the Northern Command. We operated above and below ground, facing threats from near and far, with determination and while maintaining strict protection of our forces. Along the way, we dealt with obstacles and collapses, but continued to strive to complete the mission, the destruction of the underground tunnels on the Ali al-Taher ridge and the enemy infrastructure in the area.”

For months, IDF forces fought against dozens of Hezbollah terrorists who had fortified themselves inside a massive underground system on the Ali al-Taher ridge, in what the military described as one of the most complex operations in recent years. Now, after the tunnels were destroyed using 1,100 tons of explosives, a senior military official said the strategic infrastructure built over more than 20 years had been eliminated and that Hezbollah’s ability to command and control the area had been dramatically damaged.

“You have to be there to understand the scale of the event and its significance, both psychologically and physically, for Hezbollah,” the senior military official said. According to him, the compound served as a “nerve center” for the Badr Unit, and north of it Hezbollah does not have infrastructure of a similar scale until reaching the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut, where the terror group’s facilities were also severely damaged.

IDF surprised Hezbollah after crossing Litani River

According to the official, the operation began with the crossing of the Litani River and an attempt to surprise Hezbollah. The IDF carried out deception operations designed to make the organization believe that forces were preparing to cross in another area, while at the same time opening a hidden, bypass route over several days. The Golani Reconnaissance Battalion and the Egoz Unit began clearing the area, with additional forces joining later.

When the forces reached the rear of Hezbollah’s defensive network, the official said, the surprise among the organization’s operatives was evident. “We saw their kitbags, their weapons thrown along the roads and in the orchards,” he said. However, as the forces advanced toward the central infrastructure, resistance intensified.

According to the senior official, around 50 terrorists were inside the underground system at the start of the operation. “The organization fought for this ridge like it did not fight for other places,” he said. He added that most of the terrorists were killed, some inside the tunnels and others while attempting to flee. In some cases, clashes developed between Egoz fighters and terrorists at distances of only a few meters.

At the same time, Hezbollah attempted to transfer supplies to the terrorists entrenched underground and send additional operatives to rescue and reinforce them. According to the official, at least 10 terrorists who attempted to reach the ridge for these purposes were hit. Supplies that were delivered included communication equipment, food, water, cigarettes, and chocolate.

The official said the terrorists entrenched at the site were given the option to surrender and leave with a white flag, but they refused, and some fled in violation of the organization’s orders. The IDF emphasized that, contrary to some reports, no Iranians were found at the site.

After ground control was established, the center of gravity shifted to the tunnel system. The underground network included more than 5.4 kilometers of routes, into which Yahalom fighters from the Combat Engineering Corps inserted approximately 1,100 tons of explosives in a lengthy and complex process. “The entire work of more than 20 years of building such a significant infrastructure collapsed into nothing,” the official said.

Hezbollah called for Iranian assistance, received cold response

The IDF said the operation was also conducted while attempting to prevent a broader escalation. According to the official, Hezbollah repeatedly called on Iran to assist it. “Desperate calls, including publicly and secretly: come help us, do something, at least make a statement,” he said.

The latest appeal by Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem to Iran last week received a cold response from Tehran. Reactions in Lebanon toward Hezbollah have described the organization’s loss of the ridge as a humiliation in domestic discourse.

According to a military source, the IDF has not identified an operational Iranian move in response at this stage, but is not taking risks. “Anything can happen. We do not see anything operational here, but you cannot know.” The military is preparing accordingly with defensive systems against both Iran and Hezbollah.

Despite completing the destruction of the infrastructure, the IDF clarified that it does not intend to leave the area of the Yellow Line. Forces will redeploy to positions that allow control of the territory, and the military emphasized that it will continue enforcing the line and preventing Hezbollah from returning to it.