Hezbollah has moved the command of its Badr Unit, which oversees the group’s military sector north of the Litani River, toward Lebanon’s Jezzine district following a broader redeployment triggered by the loss of the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge, a Lebanese security source told Erem News.

The move began before the battle for Ali al-Taher was settled, with Hezbollah first shifting parts of its command structure, equipment and communications to Iqlim al-Tuffah, which served as a transitional point before the command was moved deeper into the mountains, farther from the immediate front lines, the source said.

The relocation does not mean the Badr command has moved to the city of Jezzine or to a single headquarters, but rather to a broader geographic and defensive area within the district, according to the source.

The area includes a mountain belt linking Iqlim al-Tuffah with Rihan, Sajd and Mount Safi, as well as a longstanding network of Hezbollah positions and logistical routes in the region.

The source said the fall of Ali al-Taher accelerated a redeployment that had already begun.

The complex served a role beyond fortification or weapons storage and housed an important part of the Badr Unit’s command-and-control system, the source said.

The account is consistent with an announcement by the Israeli military on Sept. 26 that its forces had found what they described as a “central command complex” belonging to the Badr Unit in underground facilities at Ali al-Taher.

Previous reports said the site included operations and communications rooms, warehouses and equipment that enabled Hezbollah to manage combat operations for extended periods. There has been no independent confirmation of all the details released by Israel about the complex.

Reuters reported earlier in September that Ali al-Taher also played an important role in connecting positions in southern Lebanon with Iqlim al-Tuffah. Its loss therefore effectively severed an advanced link between the Badr command structure and its mountain hinterland.

The redeployment toward Jezzine reflects an effort to put more distance between the command structure and the front lines while preserving links between the group’s positions in the mountains, the source said.

Why Jezzine?

The choice of the Jezzine area was driven not only by distance from the front but also by the terrain, the source said.

After what happened at Ali al-Taher, Hezbollah is seeking a command structure that is more difficult to locate and destroy in a single strike and that can take advantage of elevated terrain and multiple routes connecting Iqlim al-Tuffah, Rihan and the Jezzine district.

Under the new arrangement, the main command structure is separated from the front lines, while Iqlim al-Tuffah remains a support and communications hub between the two, the source said.

The aim is to prevent the loss of an advanced position from causing the same disruption that followed the loss of Ali al-Taher.

The area is strategically located between Nabatieh, Sidon and Jezzine and extends east toward Mount Rihan. Mount Safi rises to about 1,400 meters, giving the area significant elevation.

There have been indications in recent weeks of Hezbollah moving equipment, weapons and some commanders toward Iqlim al-Tuffah, Rihan and Mount Safi, the source said.

The new Badr command remains under the direct coordination and supervision of Hezbollah’s senior military leadership rather than operating independently, reflecting the importance of the sector and the significance of losing Ali al-Taher from the group’s operational network, the source said.

A Second Line of Defense

The move also points to a broader effort by Hezbollah to redraw its military deployment map.

Reports on the group’s organizational structure place the Badr Unit’s area of responsibility north of the Litani River toward the Awali River, describing it as a “second line of defense” behind units operating farther south, closer to the Israeli border.

The relocation toward Jezzine therefore amounts to more than moving an operations room. It represents a shift in the command of the sector deeper into the defensive zone itself.

The security source said Hezbollah was also seeking to avoid turning the new location into another Ali al-Taher. It has therefore opted for a more dispersed arrangement for command, communications and equipment rather than concentrating them in a large central facility that could become an obvious target.

Israel Tracks Redeployment

That strategy carries its own risks, however, as the direction of Hezbollah’s redeployment has begun to emerge on Israel’s military map.

After the battle for Ali al-Taher, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir announced the start of what he called a “new phase” in southern Lebanon. Israeli reports have also said that equipment and commanders were detected moving toward Iqlim al-Tuffah, Rihan and Mount Safi.

In recent days, Israeli discussion has increasingly focused on the possibility of extending military pressure toward the highlands along the route to Jezzine.

Military expert Ahmad Rahal told Erem News that the movement of Hezbollah’s military center of gravity toward Iqlim al-Tuffah and Rihan could mark a new phase in the confrontation.

Israel, he said, would no longer be confronting a single position similar to Ali al-Taher, but an interconnected mountain network that Hezbollah has developed over many years.

Rahal said military strategy would likely favor dismantling such a network from its edges, through increased surveillance and strikes on movement routes, facility entrances and launch sites, before any large-scale ground operation.

A direct ground assault into the area would carry a high cost, he said.

Moving the command structure and weapons deeper into the mountains may provide Hezbollah with temporary protection, Rahal said, but it also creates a new vulnerability: once the direction of the redeployment is identified, the area chosen as a safer rear position can itself become a new focus of Israeli targeting.