On Sept. 11, the Israeli military reported it struck and collapsed a Hezbollah tunnel complex on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, detonating more than 1,000 tons of explosives to destroy two tunnels about 1.2 miles long. The blasts, roughly six miles from the Israel–Lebanon border, produced a 4.1-magnitude tremor felt by residents. The IDF said it recovered large caches of rockets, missiles, UAVs and other munitions and called the site a decades-old, Iran-backed strategic facility; Hezbollah denied the tunnels held significant military assets.
Israel Demolishes Hezbollah Tunnel Complex in Southern Lebanon — Blasts Trigger 4.1-Magnitude Tremor
Israel's military on Thursday said it conducted strikes that demolished a series of tunnels used by Hezbollah as a base in southern Lebanon. The explosions in the Ali al-Taher ridge, a hilltop six miles from the Israel-Lebanon border, caused a 4.1-magnitude tremor in the region. Photo courtesy of Israeli Defense Forces/Telegram
Sept. 11 — Israel's military said it carried out a strike that demolished a network of tunnels used by Hezbollah on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon.
The explosions occurred on a hilltop roughly six miles (about 10 km) from the Israel–Lebanon border and produced a tremor measured at magnitude 4.1 in the area.
What the Israeli military says
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it used more than 1,000 tons of explosives to collapse two tunnels, each about 1.2 miles long, according to media reports. In a Telegram statement, IDF officials said they recovered "dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles, and UAVs, as well as machine guns, dozens of anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of mines and explosive devices" inside the underground complex.
The statement described the site as containing "command centers, weapon storage rooms, and living quarters that enabled terrorists to manage the combat and remain underground for extended periods," and called the facility strategic infrastructure built over two decades with planning and funding tied to Iran.
Local reaction and differing accounts
"The sky lit up and about 15 seconds later we heard the terrifying sound," a local resident, Ahamed, told the BBC. "The house shook all together as if it was literally an earthquake."
Hezbollah officials, however, downplayed the significance of the strikes and denied that the tunnels contained significant military assets, according to The New York Times. Media outlets reporting on the incident cite statements from both the IDF and Hezbollah; independent verification of every claim has not been provided in these early reports.
Significance: The scale of the explosions and the IDF's description of recovered weaponry underscore the potential military significance the Israeli military attributes to the site, while Hezbollah's denial highlights the conflicting narratives that accompany exchanges across the Israel–Lebanon border.
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