Israel claims control of Lebanon’s key Ali al-Taher ridge: What that means

Israel this week has claimed to have established operational control over the strategically vital Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, after an extended operation against positions of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

In a statement on Friday, Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed Israeli forces had driven Hezbollah fighters out of what he said was a network of tunnels ⁠⁠under the contested highland, 15km (10 miles) from the border.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are leading a clear and uncompromising policy, reinforced every day by the [Israeli military]: 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,” he was quoted as saying by Israeli media. “The capture of Ali Taher is an important step towards achieving this goal.”

Iran-backed Hezbollah has yet to formally comment on the Israeli claims. However, hours before Katz’s comments, Reuters news agency reported that Iran had warned the United States last month that it would respond forcefully if Israeli attacks on the ridge, which rises 600 metres above sea level (1,970 feet), continued.

Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting, with varying levels of intensity, since October 2023. Israel has twice escalated the conflict – first in September 2024 and then in March this year, following the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Israel has been working to embed its occupation of southern Lebanon since the latest escalation, when it announced the creation of a “security” or “buffer” zone, which rights groups say has involved the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure – potentially a war crime – and is responsible for the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese.

Israeli strikes and ground operations around the Ali al-Taher ridge continued despite a ceasefire agreed in June, after Israel gained control of nearby Beaufort Castle and part of the higher ground overlooking much of southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

According to Mohanad Hage Ali, of the Carnegie Middle East Centre, Israel’s success has partly been down to technological superiority but also due to the complete absence of “inhibition” in their assaults upon Lebanese towns and villages, which have often accrued daily casualty rates of dozens of people.