Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that the final major IRGC-Hezbollah facility in southern Lebanon had been cleared, with all the occupants killed, captured, or moving at a very high speed out of the area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday night that the Israeli army has cleared the strategic Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, which he said Hezbollah had developed as an extension of the Beaufort (al-Shakif) position.

According to Netanyahu, the ridge was used to threaten the northern Israeli settlements of Kiryat Shmona and Metula and was positioned as part of Hezbollah’s plans to potentially invade the Galilee.

“We instructed the IDF (Israeli army) to clear it. I congratulate the Chief of Staff, the Northern Command commander and our heroic soldiers. They did tremendous work there," Netanyahu boasted.

He said Israeli forces seized weapons and computers from the position and eliminated numerous Hezbollah fighters during the operation.

"Today we can say it: the Ali Taher ridge no longer threatens us," Netanyahu declared.

This marks a significant event in Israel's efforts to clear southern Lebanon of Hezbollah fighters and their Iranian handlers.

Background

Ali al-Taher (also known as Ali Taher) Ridge is an approximately 2,000-foot-high ridge holding the Crusader-era Beaufort Castle. That area was also a Hezbollah stronghold that the Israel Defense Forces have cleared.  (Qalaat al-Shaqif). 

So What?

What is suspected to be there

Israel and Lebanese security sources say Hezbollah spent about 20 years, with Iranian help, building a large underground military complex inside the ridge; this happened, by the way, under the nose of the  UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), 

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According to reports, the facility contains command-and-control for Hezbollah’s fighters along the Litani River; Israeli officers describe it as a “central nervous system” or “underground fortress.” Tunnels run over half a mile deep into the ridge, and there are several of them. "Arab media reports describe this as an actual underground city, far more advanced than Hamas tunnels in Gaza, with some tunnels located 40 meters deep." The facility contains living quarters for fighters, as well as weapons and ammunition stores.

Allegedly, IRGC advisers, probably more than a dozen and including senior officers, are present.

First Moves

Israel's efforts to clean the Beaufort and Ali al-Taher complexes are closely linked to Operation Epic Fury. In late May, as the IRGC was mostly concerned with regime survival and getting a clean set of undies, Israel's 36th Division took Beaufort. In mid-June the main part of the ridge fell and the IDF began pushing in Hezbollah's defenses. By June 21, the IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir declared the capture of Ali al-Taher to be the primary objective of the IDF in Lebanon. A week later, the IDF had achieved fire control over the ridge but lacked physical possession of the ridge or its underground chambers.

U.S. negotiations with Iran brought operations to a standstill for a while, as Iran insisted that any ceasefire had to include the IDF operations in Lebanon. Some in Israel wondered if Hezbollah would be able to retain the ridge due to an Iran-U.S. ceasefire, ignoring the casualties Israel had taken to achieve its current position; see New: Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Renewed As Iran Talks Stall – RedState.

Fighting picked up again in July and seems to have come to a close today with Ali al-Taher, above and below ground, in Israeli possession. 

Significance

Taking this ridge has immense significance to Israel's northern frontier.

Whoever controls this ridge sees everything, and whoever controls observation controls fire. The Israeli community of Metula can be seen clearly — about ten kilometers to the southeast, too close for comfort. This topography is what gives the ridge its military value.

Nabatiyeh, Hezbollah’s central stronghold in the eastern sector, spreads out below the ridge, as do the routes connecting the Lebanese coast to the Bekaa Valley, Tyre, and Marjayoun. The IDF presence in the area creates a direct and immediate threat to a Hezbollah center of gravity. On this, there is little dispute within the IDF command.

ONE RIDGE COULD DECIDE WHETHER HEZBOLLAH CAN REBUILD 

The battle for the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon is not a minor contest over another piece of territory. It is a struggle over the geography Hezbollah needs to survive as a military organization. 

The ridge rises approximately 600 meters and overlooks important movement corridors near Hezbollah’s traditional stronghold of Iqlim al-Tuffah. Reports suggest the area may contain underground command facilities and weapons storage infrastructure. 

Whoever controls this elevation gains more than a defensive position. The ridge offers surveillance over roads, villages and suspected supply routes. From there, forces can monitor movement, direct artillery, identify launch preparations and restrict Hezbollah’s ability to move weapons toward the Israeli border. 

If Israel secures the ridge, it could disrupt the physical network connecting Hezbollah’s northern support areas with its depleted southern positions. If Hezbollah retains it, the organization preserves terrain capable of protecting logistics, concealing commanders and supporting future rearmament. 

This is why diplomatic demands for Hezbollah’s disarmament remain insufficient. Hezbollah is not simply an arsenal that can be counted and removed. It is a military system built into mountains, tunnels, communities and transportation routes. 

A ceasefire that leaves this infrastructure intact may stop today’s fighting while preserving the architecture of tomorrow’s war. 

The future of southern Lebanon will not be decided by speeches in Beirut. It will be decided by who controls the terrain from which Hezbollah could rebuild.

The frontier settlements are much safer, and attacks by Hezbollah will cost them dearly. With UNIFIL's mandate facing opposition by the Trump administration, it seems likely that Hezbollah fighters will be forced away from Israel's northern border.

Unifil’s mandate was extended for a final year at the end of August 2025. But instead of expiring on Aug. 31, operations were set to end on Dec. 31, after which a yearlong “drawing down” period will commence—as though it takes 12 months to cease doing nothing. The result is that international forces will stay in Lebanon until the end of 2027.

If not longer. U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz and the Trump Administration have held the line, but they will now face 16 months of maneuvering by the French and others who seek to preserve the international role in Lebanon—and with it their own postcolonial influence in Middle East affairs.

Politically, it may very well mark the end of Iran's role as a regional troublemaker.

Last month, as the IDF made its final preparations to clear the subterranean fortifications, Iran issued a threat.

Iran has warned the United States that it would respond forcefully to any Israeli offensive on a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon where Iranian military personnel are holed up alongside Hezbollah fighters, three officials briefed on the message told Reuters.

The message, delivered last month, highlights Iran’s continued direct involvement in the ground fighting in southern Lebanon and its readiness to retaliate against Israeli attacks there as the regional war enters its seventh month.

Unless Iran takes some sort of major action in reaction to losing this fortress, it will see its power in Lebanon quickly fade. The fact that the IDF went after Iranian operatives, after a strongly worded letter of protest by Iran to the U.S., will not be lost on anyone. In the future, being around IRGC members will not be an insurance policy; it will be like standing next to a bullet magnet.

Iran's long list of "red line" events, Grok claims at least thirteen instances of "red lines" followed by threats of "severe consequences" in 2026 thus far, will look more and more like empty threats by a beaten regime.

Taking this ridge tosses something of a hot potato to Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet. Israel occupied this ridge until its voluntary withdrawal in 1980. Having seen it fortified by enemies and lost soldiers retaking the real estate and clearing the fortifications, will Israel withdraw yet again? Or will southern Lebanon become a de facto buffer zone for northern Israel where the IDF operates according to its will?