Israel says it destroyed major underground Hezbollah base in southern Lebanon
Israel's military said it used over 1,000 tonnes of explosives to destroy a large Hezbollah tunnel complex under the Ali Taher Ridge, an explosion felt for kilometres and registering as a 4.1-magnitude seismic event.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the destruction of an extensive underground network built by Hezbollah beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon. More than 1,000 tonnes of explosives were used to collapse two tunnels stretching over two kilometres in total.
The US Geological Survey recorded seismic activity from the blast equivalent to a 4.1-magnitude earthquake. Residents in Nabatieh, roughly six kilometres from the ridge, described a fireball lighting up the sky followed by a thunderous shockwave that shook homes as though in an earthquake. Panicked residents fled toward Beirut, while tremors were reportedly felt as far as the coastal city of Saida, 40 kilometres away.
Israeli forces had seized control of the ridge the previous week following months of clashes with the Iran-backed group. According to the IDF, the underground facility housed a command centre belonging to Hezbollah's Badr unit along with rockets, missiles, drones, anti-tank weapons, mines and explosives. The military said the site took two decades to build with Iranian funding and planning, and that all fighters inside had either been killed or had fled. The strike completed a broader operation to destroy eight tunnels and establish what Israel calls a security zone in the area.
Tensions persist in the south
The operation comes amid expanded Israeli military activity in southern Lebanon, with additional strikes reported in Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Mansouri in the Tyre district. Meanwhile, the Lebanese army has increased its presence in areas outside Israeli control, including the city of Nabatieh, aiming to stabilise the region.
The conflict began on 2 March this year when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader. Israel responded with a bombing campaign and an invasion of a significant portion of southern Lebanon, and its forces still occupy about 5% of Lebanese territory. Although fighting eased after a ceasefire between Iran and the US in June and a separate Lebanon-Israel agreement, Israeli strikes and demolitions have continued. Lebanon's health ministry reports at least 4,362 people killed in the conflict so far, while Israel says 40 soldiers and four civilians have died on its side.
