IDF Engineers Study How to Destroy Hezbollah Tunnels Without Collapsing Beaufort Fortress

Israeli military engineers are examining how to destroy tunnel networks under Beaufort Fortress in southern Lebanon without bringing down the historic site. The fortress, which has stood since the 12th century on the Ali Taher ridge near the village of Arnoun, dominates the Nabatieh plateau and is one of Lebanon’s symbols.

According to the report, Iran spent nearly 20 years helping Hezbollah build what is described as the largest tunnel city discovered so far in Lebanon. Parts of it lie deep inside the mountain. That creates a major challenge for the Israel Defense Forces, because unlike tunnel demolitions in Gaza, where tunnels are dug in sand, these tunnels are carved into rock, and an explosion could enlarge the cavity instead of collapsing it. The engineering plan is to force the tunnel to cave in on itself.

The report also says one tunnel at Beaufort was built as an air defense system. Anti-aircraft guns were mounted on rails that lead to firing positions cut into the mountain, allowing militants to stay in a control room, move the gun out with the press of a button, fire remotely without endangering the operator, and then return the weapon to the protected tunnel.

Military correspondent Avi Ashkenazi said the IDF now intends to destroy the tunnels, a highly complex operation that will require moving massive amounts of explosives to collapse Hezbollah’s underground city. Transporting the explosives is difficult because reaching the site requires crossing the Litani River. At the same time, engineers are still studying how to blow up parts of the tunnel system beneath the fortress without causing it to collapse.