As first reported by our military correspondent Hillel Biton Rosen: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Sunday it has located a massive underground tunnel network belonging to the terror organization Hezbollah in Lebanon’s Beaufort Ridge, planned and funded by Iran’s terror regime. The network, located just six kilometers (roughly four miles) from the Israeli town of Metula, served as Hezbollah’s operational hub in a civilian area and enabled operational control over the Galilee Panhandle, creating a significant threat to Israeli civilians and forces.
The tunnel network was built to house hundreds of fighters simultaneously and includes rooms equipped for prolonged stays and combat, with water and electricity infrastructure. Anti-tank capabilities and air defense systems designed to strike IDF forces and Israeli civilians were also found. In one tunnel, stretching nearly a kilometer long, forces discovered six underground shafts, a weapons storage room, anti-tank missile launchers and missiles, grenades, ammunition, combat equipment and advanced medical supplies, alongside living quarters, a shower, bathrooms, an operating room, and kitchens.
From the tunnel complex, Hezbollah previously launched unmanned aerial vehicles, shoulder-fired missiles, and anti-tank missiles at Israeli forces operating in the area and into Israeli territory. The IDF submitted a request to the Lebanese army to deal with the site, but Hezbollah clearly prevented this. Forces from the Golani Brigade Combat Team, Maglan, and Yahalom units, under the command of Division 36 and with intelligence guidance from Military Intelligence and the Engineering Corps, are now leading efforts to locate and destroy the tunnel network, aiming to achieve operational control over the Beaufort Ridge and remove the threat to Israeli civilians.
IDF Spokesperson Lt. Col. Efi Defrin: “About a week ago we launched an operation to capture the Beaufort Ridge. It’s important for me to explain to you why we launched this operation. The Beaufort is a geographic asset from which Hezbollah fired some 400 missiles at northern communities. It’s only six kilometers from the town of Metula.
Now I want to present details we couldn’t publish until now. In recent days, Northern Command, led by Division 36 and with intelligence guidance, has been working to destroy a central underground infrastructure of Hezbollah in the Beaufort Ridge area. This is an underground network composed of multiple levels carved deep into the rocky ground. The entire network was built with full funding and planning by Iran’s terror regime, over more than a decade.
The complex served as a central underground facility for several purposes. It served as a significant command and control center, where hundreds of Hezbollah operatives stayed. From there they managed the fighting and executed a terror plan, including in the current fighting. In addition, the facility was used to store weapons and combat equipment. Hundreds of Hezbollah fighters who stayed there, and felt safe there, fled with the attack on the Beaufort Ridge.
This is a large and sprawling underground infrastructure that requires destruction through ground maneuvering. We planned the operation for a long time and waited for the right operational opportunity to execute it. The facility was attacked from the air several times, and now, in a ground operation, we are working to destroy it. Our forces surprised the enemy—they arrived by deception from an unexpected direction, with the help of massive Air Force strikes. The current operation is another step in crushing Hezbollah’s capabilities across all dimensions.
Even at this moment, our forces continue to operate in the ridge area and are destroying the terror infrastructure. The partnership between the IDF and the residents of the north is essential to achieving our goals in this campaign. It’s important for me to tell you in the clearest way possible: Our goal was and remains one—defending the northern communities, creating a new security reality, and deepening the blow to Hezbollah. The operation in the Beaufort Ridge, like other operations we’ve carried out, proves this. We will not cease, will not stop, and will not let up until this goal is fully achieved.”