Ali Al-Taher Heights is entering a new phase of confrontation after Israel announced the completion of control over the huge underground complex in the region, while Israeli and Iranian data reveal the party’s attempt to drag Tehran into a broader confrontation, in parallel with Israeli preparations for the possibility of a limited escalation on the northern front if attempts to extract weapons from the tunnels develop.
According to a report by journalists Assaf Rosenzweig and Nir Davvory on the Israeli “N12” website, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official told the New York Times that between 70 and 100 party members, including Iranian advisors from the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard, have been trapped since June inside the tunnels in the Ali al-Tahir Heights area.
The report indicated that the Israeli army announced the completion of the “cleansing” of the huge underground complex, while Israel is preparing for a possible escalation against the backdrop of Hezbollah and Iran’s attempts to remove weapons from the site.
The Iranian official said that the party tried for days to transport water and food to the militants inside the tunnels using drones, but whenever one of them went out to receive supplies, the Israeli forces targeted him.
He added that the complex in Ali Al-Taher included three exit routes, two of which were under Israeli control, while the third faced the risk of immediate collapse.
According to the Iranian official, the priority for Iran and the party is to remove the weapons from the site, but he acknowledged that the chances of success of this step seem “slim.”
In the same context, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said: “Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are leading a clear, non-negotiable line that the Israeli army applies daily. Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon until Hezbollah disarms all of Lebanon and removes the threats to the residents of the Galilee.”
Katz added: “Now the Israeli army will complete the neutralization of the tunnels and prepare tactically in the appropriate way to hold on to the heights and prevent the enemy’s repositioning in the area.”
On Thursday night, the Israeli army announced the completion of the process of controlling the party’s huge underground complex in the region.
According to the Israeli army, the operation has remained subject to a publication ban until now, with the aim of not exposing the soldiers to danger and preventing the party from understanding what is happening on the ground, and it ended without any gunmen remaining alive inside the compound.
Israeli forces are currently preparing to destroy the complex network of tunnels, while Israel is monitoring Hezbollah’s attempts to engage Iran in an effort to stop the operation.
According to estimates by the Israeli security establishment, the party asked the Iranians to provide assistance and intervention, in an attempt to rebuild what Israel describes as the “Shiite axis” that was damaged during the past two years.
In return, Tehran threatens to intervene if Israel continues its operations, in light of the exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran and the great economic pressure imposed on the Iranian regime.
Israel is preparing for the possibility that the operation will lead to escalation and confrontation that may remain limited on the northern front and may extend to several days of fighting, but Israeli estimates consider that the chances of this are not high.
At the same time, the Israeli army maintains a high level of alert and is in close contact with the Americans.
After the destruction of the underground complex, the Israeli army intends to redeploy the defense system in the region, provided that the deployment of forces along the so-called “yellow line” will be determined according to an assessment of the situation conducted after the completion of the work.
The Israeli security establishment says that the forces are prepared for various scenarios, and that publishing the details of the operation constitutes a message to the other party about the reality on the ground, despite the possibility that the party will try to respond.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the operation, saying: “Now these heights, which Hezbollah has tried all along to use against us, we eliminated a very large number of militants there, and today we can say that the Ali al-Taher Heights no longer pose a threat to us.”
According to the Israeli army, soldiers found inside the underground infrastructure command rooms, weapons rooms, electrical generator rooms, and accommodations that included bathrooms and a kitchen.
The army said that the equipment and conditions at the site allowed members of the “Badr” unit to remain inside the tunnels for long periods and manage operations from them.
The Israeli army statement said: “As a result of the activity within the routes during recent weeks, the ability to implement plans against the citizens of the State of Israel and the army forces from these routes has been neutralized.”
According to Israeli army data, this strategic infrastructure was built over two decades with joint funding and planning with the Iranian regime.
He added that the two main infrastructures were used by the unit’s members to manage fire systems and carry out operations against Israelis and security forces over the past decades.
During the war, especially in the “Northern Arrows” and “Lion’s Roar” operations, party members continuously used these paths, according to the Israeli account.
The Israeli army had recently advanced towards the Ali al-Taher Heights area after it was considered to have succeeded in weakening the party throughout the fighting.
Between the attempts to remove weapons from the tunnels, the Iranian warnings, and the Israeli preparation for the possibility of days of fighting, the Ali Al-Taher Heights are transforming from a limited field file into a new testing point for the relationship between the Lebanese and Iranian arenas and the limits of escalation between them.
