The Israeli military said Thursday it had completed the clearance of what it described as a strategic Hezbollah underground complex beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon, following weeks of operations that Israel said left it in control of the area above and below ground.

The announcement came after Israeli forces moved to seize the mountainous ridge, located near Nabatiyeh inside what Israel describes as its security or buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, Hezbollah had spent two decades building an extensive network of tunnels beneath Ali Taher, turning the site into what the military described as the “nerve center” of Hezbollah’s Badr regional division, responsible for operations in the area of southern Lebanon north of the Litani River.

The ridge had emerged as one of the most strategically sensitive points in the latest confrontation, with dozens of Hezbollah fighters believed to have been sheltering beneath it when a new ceasefire took effect in June.

In a statement Thursday night, the Israeli military said troops from its 36th Division had spent recent weeks conducting operations to establish what it called “operational control” over the ridge, both above and below ground.

The forces cleared two major tunnel routes of Hezbollah fighters, killing some during the operation while others fled, according to the Israeli military.

A military official said control of the area was achieved through what he described as offensive operations, including ambushes targeting fighters hiding around the ridge and attacks on tunnel shafts using gunfire, grenades, drones and airstrikes.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, launched several explosive drones at Israeli troops operating in the area during recent weeks, including an attack reported on Wednesday, according to the military.

The Israeli army described the underground complex as a strategic infrastructure built over approximately two decades and said its construction and development had been financed and planned by Iran.

According to the IDF, Hezbollah fighters belonging to the Badr unit had used the underground facility to launch attacks against Israeli troops and civilians over recent years.

“Following the activity in the infrastructure in recent weeks, the ability to carry out terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops from the infrastructure has been neutralized,” the military said.

Israeli troops discovered an extensive network of facilities inside the tunnels, including command centers, weapons storage rooms, generator rooms, living quarters, showers and a kitchen.

The infrastructure allowed Hezbollah fighters to conduct military operations and remain underground for extended periods, the Israeli military said.

With the tunnel routes now cleared, the IDF said it had begun working to demolish the complex.

“Upon completion of the activity, the IDF will establish a renewed defensive posture in accordance with the situational assessment,” the military said, indicating that it could eventually reposition or withdraw from the area.

Conflicting Reports Over Iranian Presence

The Israeli announcement came hours after Reuters reported that around a dozen members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including at least two senior officers, were believed to have been with Hezbollah fighters at the underground site beneath Ali Taher.

However, the Israeli military said Thursday that it had cleared the tunnel routes of all fighters and gave no indication that Iranian Revolutionary Guard personnel were present inside the tunnels when Israeli forces entered and took control of them.

The Reuters report had also said that Israel had delayed a direct assault on the ridge amid Iranian threats of a strong response to any offensive.

But the Israeli military's announcement suggested that its forces had already been operating inside and around the tunnel complex for several weeks, conducting ambushes and attacks before completing the clearance operation.

Katz Says Israel Will Not Withdraw Until Hezbollah Is Disarmed

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz hailed the seizure of Ali Taher as a key step toward consolidating Israel's military presence in southern Lebanon, declaring that Israeli forces would not withdraw from the security zone until Hezbollah was disarmed and threats to communities in northern Israel were removed.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are leading a clear and uncompromising policy, reinforced every day by the IDF: Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon and the threats to the residents of the Galilee are removed,” Katz said in a statement.

“The capture of Ali Taher is an important step toward achieving this goal,” he added, referring to Israel's announcement that it had taken control of the strategic ridge.

Katz said the operation marked the completion of what he described as the phase of establishing Israeli control over the security zone in southern Lebanon.

He said the decision to seize Ali Taher followed intelligence indicating the presence of Hezbollah command-and-control tunnels beneath the ridge.

According to Katz, the underground complex had served as “the last commanding outpost” for defending the Nabatiyeh area.