Israel Says It Destroyed Key Hezbollah Tunnels In South Lebanon

Israel said Thursday it demolished key tunnels built by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group beneath the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon.

"This is strategic terrorist infrastructure that was built over two decades, with Iranian funding and planning," said a joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, adding that its destruction "completes the achievement of operational control over the Ali al-Taher ridge -- above and below ground".

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israel carried out a "massive explosion" on the Ali al-Taher ridge in the Nabatieh region, "causing tremors and a powerful rumble".

AFP journalists in south Lebanon also said they heard "huge explosions" on Thursday evening.

The Israeli army said the infrastructure extended for more than two kilometres (1.2 miles) and contained "dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles, and UAVs, as well as machine guns, dozens of anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of mines and explosive devices."

The underground compound also included a command centre of Hezbollah's "Badr" unit, the army added.

A military official told AFP that some of the militants that had operated in the area of the ridge had abandoned it, while others were "eliminated by aerial strikes and artillery fire."

Israel had announced last week it had captured the Ali al-Taher ridge.

In March, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into a regional war in support of Iran, but violence has decreased in intensity since the understanding reached between Iran and the United States in June, alongside an agreement between Lebanon and Israel. 

During the negotiations, the United States, which sponsored the talks, proposed that the Lebanese army take control of the Ali al-Taher ridge, but Hezbollah refused, a source close to the parties told AFP.

Beirut authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,300 people in total since March, and Israeli forces continue to occupy a so-called "security zone" in the south.

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