IDF Prepares for Sensitive Days on Northern Border After Hezbollah Tunnel Bust

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are bracing for a sensitive period along the northern border following the completion of operations to clear two Hezbollah underground tunnel networks on the Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon. According to Kan News, IDF forces have achieved operational control of the ridge, both above and below ground. The process of neutralizing and destroying the tunnels is ongoing, and Israel anticipates a potential response from Hezbollah, and possibly Iran.

Hezbollah reacted overnight by launching a drone, but has not yet issued a clear official statement. However, sources close to the organization claim their operatives withdrew in an orderly fashion and that the confrontation in the area is not over from their perspective. Israeli assessments, which have proven accurate, predicted that any response might begin with drone launches, anti-tank missiles, or rockets targeting IDF forces and northern Israeli communities.

The central question now is whether Hezbollah will settle for a limited response, or if the completion of the tunnel destruction will lead to wider exchanges of fire, testing Iran's threats as well. Over recent weeks, IDF's 36th Division forces operated on the Ali Taher ridge using ambushes, attacking tunnel shafts, grenades, drones, and aerial and ground fire. Some militants hiding in the tunnels were eliminated, while others escaped.

Within the complex, command posts, weapons storage facilities, generator rooms, kitchens, showers, and living quarters were found, enabling Hezbollah operatives to conduct prolonged underground combat. The IDF states this is a strategic infrastructure built over two decades with Iranian planning and funding. The operation on Ali Taher is a direct continuation of the campaign against Hezbollah's underground network in the Beaufort area, where a complex, multi-level tunnel system was previously destroyed.

The Ali Taher ridge overlooks the Nabatieh area and routes connecting southern Lebanon to Khiam, a historical Hezbollah stronghold. Control of the ridge impairs the organization's ability to move, transfer supplies, and launch missiles and drones toward Israel. This operation comes amid Iranian threats, reported by Reuters, that a broad Israeli assault on the ridge could be met with a large-scale Iranian attack, conveyed to the U.S. via Oman. Iran claims any Israeli ground maneuver to capture the ridge would be met with a direct attack and violate the June Islamabad agreement's ceasefire understandings.