Report: Hezbollah's ability to control Nabatieh area dramatically damaged

After around three months of fighting against Hezbollah, the Israeli army destroyed 14 tunnel routes in the strategic Ali Taher ridge with a total length of more than 5.4 km using about 1,100 tons of explosives.

According to Israel’s Maariv newspaper, the Israeli army says that about 50 Hezbollah fighters were holed up in the compound, which was built over more than 20 years.

The Israeli army “says that what remains this morning (Friday) of the Ali Taher ridge, under which Iran built Hezbollah's last and most significant defense line in southern Lebanon for two decades, is ‘nothing more than a sandbox,’” Maariv reported.

The commander of the Israeli army’s 36th Division told troops just before the tunnels were detonated yesterday: "The commando brigade and the Yahalam unit, together with the forces of the Fire Brigade, Golani and the 7th Brigade, led one of the most complex operations we have ever carried out … We operated above ground and underground, facing near and distant threats.”

A senior Israeli military official said Hezbollah's ability to command and control the area has been dramatically damaged.

"You have to be there to understand the magnitude of the event and its significance, both psychological and physical, for Hezbollah," the senior military official told Maariv. According to him, the compound was a "nerve center" for the Badr unit, and to the north of it, Hezbollah has no infrastructure of a similar size.

According to the senior source, at the beginning of the operation, there were about 50 Hezbollah fighters in the underground system. According to him, most of the Hezbollah fighters were killed, some inside the tunnels and others when they tried to escape. In some cases, clashes developed between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters at a range of just a few meters.

Hezbollah simultaneously attempted to deliver supplies to the fighters who had barricaded themselves underground and even sent additional operatives to rescue and reinforce them. According to the source, at least ten Hezbollah fighters who tried to reach the ridge for these purposes were injured. The supply packages that were delivered contained communication equipment, food, water, cigarettes and chocolate.

According to the source, the fighters who had barricaded themselves in the area were given the option to leave with a white flag, but they refused, and some fled in violation of Hezbollah’s instructions. The Israeli army emphasized that, contrary to various publications, no Iranians were found there.

After gaining control above ground, the center of gravity shifted to the tunnel system. This is more than 5.4 kilometers of underground tunnels, into which fighters from the Israeli combat engineering corps inserted approximately 1,100 tons of explosives in a lengthy and complex process. "The entire work of over 20 years of building such a significant infrastructure has crumbled into nothing," the source said.

According to the source, Hezbollah called on Iran to help it along the way. "Desperate calls, both publicly and secretly: Come to our aid, do something, at least make a statement," he said. Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem 's latest call to the Iranians a week ago received a chilly response from Tehran, Maariv added.

Despite the completion of the destruction of the infrastructure, the Israeli army said that there is no intention to leave the area. The forces will be redeployed in positions that will allow control of the area, and the Israeli army emphasizes that they will continue to enforce the line and prevent Hezbollah from returning to it, Maariv said. "We are not leaving it," the senior official clarified.