The Israel Defense Forces has completed an operation, reported under the codename "Chisel of Flames," to dismantle a Hezbollah underground complex beneath the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, according to the IDF and multiple outlets covering the campaign, including the Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel and the open-source defense outlet FDD's Long War Journal.
According to these reports, the IDF's 36th Division identified the site as a central command complex and "nerve center" for Hezbollah's Badr Unit, describing it as the last and most significant line of Hezbollah defense in southern Lebanon after roughly two decades of Iranian-backed construction. The IDF says the underground network ran across some 14 tunnel routes totaling about 5.4 kilometers, and that its forces used roughly 1,100 tons of explosives to destroy more than two kilometers of the infrastructure. Israeli forces reported finding command rooms, weapons storage rooms, generators, living quarters and a kitchen inside the complex, and described dozens of entrenched fighters, estimated at around 50, having occupied it during the operation.
The IDF released footage of the site's destruction and described what remains of the ridge as "nothing more than a sandbox." Israeli forces have since withdrawn from the ridge. The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center's analysis frames the operation as intended to advance the ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Lebanon by removing a Hezbollah strongpoint near the border rather than as the opening of a new front.
The operation followed weeks of contested efforts over the ridge, including Hezbollah attacks and stalled handover arrangements, according to Long War Journal's reporting. Hezbollah has continued limited attacks elsewhere along the border since the ridge operation concluded, including drone launches toward IDF positions that Israeli forces say they intercepted.
This account is drawn from IDF statements as relayed by the cited outlets and from open-source defense analysis; Lions of Zion has not independently verified troop numbers or explosive tonnages beyond what these sources report.