Israel Claims Control of Strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge in Southern Lebanon

Israel has declared that its forces have established operational control over the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, marking a significant development in the prolonged conflict with Hezbollah. Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Friday that Israeli troops had eliminated Hezbollah positions within a network of tunnels beneath the highland, located approximately 15km from the border.

Katz stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and he are pursuing an uncompromising policy, backed by the military, which refuses to withdraw from the Lebanese security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed and threats to Israel’s Galilee region are neutralized. He characterized the capture of Ali al-Taher as a critical milestone toward these objectives.

Hezbollah has not yet issued an official response to the Israeli claims. However, Reuters reported that Iran warned the United States last month that it would respond forcefully if attacks on the ridge, which sits 600 meters above sea level, were to continue.

The confrontation, which began in October 2023, has seen Israel escalate hostilities twice—first in September 2024 and again in March following the onset of the US-Israeli war with Iran. Despite a ceasefire agreed upon in June, Israeli strikes and ground operations persisted around the ridge after capturing nearby Beaufort Castle and adjacent high ground.

Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Centre attributed Israel’s advances to technological superiority and a lack of restraint in attacking Lebanese civilian areas. He described the widespread destruction of villages as ethnic cleansing, noting that Israeli forces face no consequences for actions that have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed infrastructure, which rights groups allege may constitute war crimes.

Security analyst Ahron Bregman noted that the ridge provides Israel with enhanced strategic leverage over southern Lebanon, effectively pressuring the Lebanese government to confront Hezbollah or face continued occupation. Meanwhile, Nicholas Blanford of the Atlantic Council suggested Hezbollah’s silence could indicate a backroom deal or that Israel is overstating the extent of its control, as details regarding the ridge’s infrastructure remain unclear.

Blanford added that while Hezbollah appears poised to resume resistance activities, decision-making now rests with Iran, which currently seeks to avoid escalation. This dynamic may frustrate Netanyahu, whose political future is tied to concluding the conflict with Iran, an adversary he has labeled an existential threat since the 1990s.

Katz has threatened to “return Iran to the Stone Age” if Tehran retaliates, suggesting such an attack would remove constraints on the Israeli military, allowing strikes against Iranian infrastructure. However, analysts question how far Israel can act given its diplomatic, economic, and military dependence on the United States.

With Netanyahu facing a difficult re-election contest in October, the situation in southern Lebanon could prove decisive. Bregman speculated that Netanyahu may actually prefer Iranian involvement, as a broader war could potentially delay the upcoming Israeli elections.