The article says the United States forced Israel to stop fighting in Lebanon even though the IDF had not yet completed the capture of a strategic target on the Ali Tahar ridge in southern Lebanon. Over the weekend, the army published its operational control map for the area, showing the ridge at the northern edge of the central sector, beyond Beaufort, overlooking Metula and northern Israel, and even more directly overlooking Nabatieh below.
According to the report, the IDF uncovered on the mountain a large Hezbollah headquarters, described as a kind of command center that controls all of southern Lebanon. The site reportedly contains not only weapons, but also command facilities and intelligence material. The article says several dozen militants are still trapped inside the complex and in tunnels under the mountain, while Hezbollah is firing rockets, missiles, and explosives to try to prevent the capture.
It says that in several incidents over the past day, five militants were killed, including Battalion 52 commander Lt. Col. Dor Ben Shimchon and his entire team, and a rocket strike on Mגלן fighters led to the death of Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari. The resulting exchanges prompted an Israeli response, but then, the article claims, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and the Americans told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the fire.
The political echelon then issued a statement at midday saying Israel had struck in response to Hezbollah fire and warning, “If Hezbollah returns to attack us, we will strike it again with force.” The article says it is now unclear whether the troops, who are a step away from taking the forward position on Ali Tahar, will continue, and warns that staying in place creates a vulnerability to further Hezbollah attacks. Security sources are quoted criticizing the situation as dangerous, arguing that the soldiers should either be allowed to operate freely or pulled back.
