Israel destroys key Hezbollah underground command center in southern Lebanon in earth-shaking detonation

Peloni:  The symbolism of this victory over Iran’s reach into Lebanon is important, even as it remains limited.  Hezbollah still controls significant influence in Lebanon, and still controls enough influence to maintain control over Lebanon’s military so as to prevent Lebanon from fulfilling its commitments in the so-called pilot program in which Hezbollah has streamed back into these territories which had been left for the LAF to defend against Hezbollah returning.  The laudable expectations of Washington’s efforts following the calls of Lebanese officials for peace with Israel and an end to Iranian tyranny became a laughable teaching moment for anyone so misguided as to believe that the Lebanese statements would be cemented by actions matching the strength and independence invoked by their statements.  Even as all of this has been well exposed, Washington had intended that the Israeli pilot program relinquishing territory to Lebanon to secure against Hezbollah would continue and expand.  This belies the commitment of Washington to ignore actual realities on the ground while pursuing historical rhetoric as if the realities did not breach acknowledged Red Lines which underlined the pilot program and demonstrated its immediate failure in the same instant.  Expected followup meetings between Israel and Lebanon have now been delayed until October, but the Lebanese can not free themselves from the tyranny of Iran so long as Iran remains in the control of the IRGC.  The priority of regime change in Iran remains the pivotal marker following which the influence of Iran’s proxies might be rendered moot.  Hence, until such time as Iran is freed from its internal state of tyranny by the IRGC, Lebanon will be maintained in its own state of external tyranny by the IRGC.  It really is that simple.

IDF uses over 1000 tons of explosives that trigger 4.1 earthquake warning

The IDF destroys a system of underground tunnels beneath the Ali al-Taher ridge in Lebanon. (Photo: Screenshot/IDF)

Israel destroyed a massive underground command center of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon late Thursday night, in a series of explosions that triggered earthquake warnings in Lebanon.

The surprise announcement of the detonation came despite explicit threats by the Iranian regime and Hezbollah not to destroy the complex, where dozens of operatives had holed up for months within the widely branched system of underground tunnels beneath the Ali al-Taher ridge.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that this completed “the consolidation of the security zone in southern Lebanon.”

“This was strategic terror infrastructure built over two decades, with Iranian funding and planning. The terror infrastructure and the command center on the ridge were designed to serve as the staging base for the conquest of the Galilee, and had observation and fire dominance over Metula and Kiryat Shmona,” they stressed.

The IDF said that the operation to slowly capture and finally demolish the underground compound was “one of the most complex operations the IDF has conducted in recent years.” The military and government deliberately held back information about the ongoing operation in order to deprive Iran and Hezbollah of a pretext for attacking Israel.

In a pointed warning, Netanyahu and Katz emphasized that Israel “will continue to defend the northern communities from within Lebanon – and any attempt to harm our citizens and our forces will be met with force.”

Ahead of the demolition, the IDF reportedly raised its level of readiness to be prepared for potential retaliatory strikes. At the time of publication, neither Iran nor Hezbollah had attacked Israel.

The massive detonations triggered an earthquake warning of 4.1 on the Richter scale in Lebanon. “Tonight the mountain became a sandbox,” a senior IDF officer told Army Radio.

Yahalom combat engineers had carried approximately 1,100 tons of explosives in jerry cans on their backs into the tunnels to destroy them, under constant threat of Hezbollah attacks.

The tunnel system “extended for more than two kilometers. 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, were located inside,” the IDF said.

“A central command complex belonging to Hezbollah’s “Badr” Unit was located within the underground infrastructure… [containing] command centers, weapon storage rooms, and living quarters that enabled terrorists to manage the combat and remain underground for extended periods. This was strategic infrastructure that was constructed over two decades, funded and planned by the Iranian terror regime.”

According to Army Radio, most of the underground infrastructure beneath the greater Beaufort Ridge and the area of the Nabatiyeh Heights is now destroyed, and the IDF said it would withdraw its physical presence from the Ali al-Taher ridge while continuing to prevent the return of militants to the area through firepower and surveillance.

The operation began with a commando raid accompanied by a tactical diversion that enabled troops to attack from behind and cut off the area, trapping at least 50 Hezbollah operatives underground before they managed to flee.

Once the IDF established control over Ali al-Taher ridge, a highly complex operation involving the entire General Staff, alongside intelligence, logistics and communications branches, began.

For three months, Israeli troops systematically “peeled away” Hezbollah’s intelligence-gathering and explosive capabilities below the ground, while fending off constant attacks and attempts to resupply the trapped terrorists from outside.

Troops intercepted deliveries of packages containing new communications equipment, food, water, and even chocolate and cigarettes, often transported with drones.

According to Army Radio, Israel allowed trapped operatives to surrender and come out under a white flag; however, they refused to surrender and fought to the end.

“All of the terrorists who were inside the infrastructure were eliminated or fled. Despite Hezbollah’s declaration that it would defend the infrastructure at any cost, it failed and even abandoned its personnel to die inside,” said IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin.

Some of the terrorists managed to flee via shafts that IDF troops didn’t find, or under the cover of heavy fog in the area.

“Terrorists who attempted to abandon the route or resupply the terrorists trapped inside were eliminated in strikes from the air and from the ground. Some of the terrorists who attempted to flee were eliminated in close-quarters combat after encountering ambushes by our troops. All of the terrorists who were inside the infrastructure were eliminated or fled.”

Despite these achievements, Defrin also noted that “the combat came at a heavy cost. Our soldiers, the finest of our sons, the best of us, fell in the battles to gain control of and clear the ridge. We completed the mission; these achievements belong first and foremost to them.”

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