Israel blew up a major Hezbollah tunnel network beneath the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon on Thursday, using more than 1,100 tons of explosives in a demolition that triggered a 4.1-magnitude earthquake.

A powerful blast was heard across the region as Israeli forces demolished two tunnel routes beneath the ridge with explosives.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that the underground facility had been destroyed on their orders and that the Israeli military had now “completed the organization of the security zone in southern Lebanon.”

The Israeli military said the tunnel systems beneath Ali al-Taher had served as the “nerve center” of Hezbollah’s Badr regional division, a unit responsible for the area of southern Lebanon north of the Litani River.

The military described the facility as “strategic infrastructure that was built over two decades,” saying the project had been financed and planned by Iran.

“The terror infrastructure and headquarters under the ridge were intended to serve as a base for the conquest of the Galilee, as well as for surveillance and fire over Metula and Kiryat Shmona,” Netanyahu and Katz said.

The Israeli military said more than 1,100 tons of explosives were used to demolish the tunnels.

Inside the two tunnel systems, which stretched for more than two kilometers, troops found dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles and drones, as well as firearms, anti-tank missiles, hundreds of mines and other explosives, the military said.

The military said the facility had been built over more than two decades and served as a major underground command and weapons complex for Hezbollah’s Badr division.

إعلام إسرائيلي ينشر مشاهد تُظهر لحظة التفجيرات التي طالت مرتفعات علي الطاهر. pic.twitter.com/97qTznOxfO

— Al Modon - المدن (@almodononline) September 10, 2026

مشاهد نقلاً عن إعلام إسرائيلي تُظهر لحظة تنفيذ التفجيرات العنيفة في مرتفعات علي الطاهر pic.twitter.com/FdRYCLoKPb

— Al Modon - المدن (@almodononline) September 10, 2026

Last week, the Israeli military said it had completed the capture and clearing of the tunnel system, killing some Hezbollah operatives while others fled. The operation followed weeks of fighting around the ridge.

Reuters reported last week that Iran had warned the United States it would respond forcefully to an Israeli assault on Hezbollah positions beneath the ridge, although the warning came after Israeli troops had already captured and cleared the site.

Following Thursday’s blast, Netanyahu and Katz said the Israeli military was preparing to defend the area and prevent Hezbollah from returning.

With the demolition of the Ali al-Taher underground complex, the military said it had completed the destruction of a major Hezbollah tunnel network in the Ali al-Taher and Beaufort Castle area comprising eight tunnels with a combined length of 5.4 kilometers.

Earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu linked the operation in southern Lebanon to broader tensions with Iran, saying Tehran was seeking to rebuild its military capabilities.

“President Trump announced this evening that Iran is attempting to rearm with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his office. “This is true.”

“After we destroyed its immediate capability to produce nuclear bombs — in both Operation Rising Lion and Operation Roaring Lion — it is trying again,” he said.

Netanyahu pledged that Iran would not obtain a nuclear weapon as long as he remained in office and warned that Israel would take further action against Iran and its allies.

“We are striking the Iranian axis,” he said. “We are delivering heavy blows not only in the Gaza Strip but also in Lebanon. We have destroyed the Beaufort Ridge and are now dealing with the Ali al-Taher Ridge.”

“More to come,” he added.

Israeli security services were meanwhile discussing the possibility of an escalation involving Iran, Channel 12 reported.

According to the report, Israel was preparing for the possibility of Iranian ballistic missile attacks as well as Iranian-backed attacks against Israeli or Jewish targets abroad.

The report said continued Iranian missile fire against Jordan and the success of the U.S. economic blockade against Iran were among factors pointing, in Israel’s view, toward a possible escalation.

Hezbollah was also working to persuade Iran to come to its aid in Lebanon, Channel 12 reported.

However, the channel said there was no concrete warning or specific plot that had been uncovered ahead of the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

Meanwhile, U.S. and Middle Eastern officials told The Wall Street Journal that Iran was once again producing ballistic missiles at underground facilities.

According to the report, Tehran was using stockpiled components to assemble both solid- and liquid-fueled missiles at several underground locations, including the Khojir complex east of Tehran.

Iran was also working to build new missile production facilities, the officials said.