Lebanon: After Ali al-Taher, Israeli Political Pressure Mounts

Israel’s declaration of “operational control” over the Ali al-Taher ridge has opened a new phase in southern Lebanon, with the question now extending beyond the ridge itself. The immediate issue is what Israel intends to do next, and how the development could shape negotiations expected to follow.

The Israeli military said troops from its 36th Division had secured control above and below ground. It said Hezbollah fighters had been killed or had fled, while operations continued to destroy underground facilities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ridge no longer posed a threat to Israel.

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What happened at Ali al-Taher ridge was not an ordinary military development, as some in Hezbollah and among its allies are trying to portray it.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would not withdraw from what he called a security zone in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah was disarmed. He described control of Ali al-Taher as the end of a phase in consolidating Israeli control over the area.

Hezbollah officials challenged that account. Ihab Hamadeh, a member of the group’s Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc, said continued bombardment contradicted claims of complete control. He also noted that Israel had released no images showing its troops entering the facility or capturing the weapons it said were there. Mahmoud Qamati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, said Israel had presented the site as a vast military facility when it was actually a collection of defensive positions.

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Nor can it be placed in the same category as sites that witnessed previous confrontations, because Ali al-Taher’s importance lies in its strategic location and its impact on the broader battlefield in southern Lebanon.

Maariv separately quoted an Israeli military source as saying that 15 bodies had been found inside tunnels in the area. Academic and political researcher Hayat Hariri said the ridge’s importance came from its strategic location. She said it overlooks Nabatieh and the Marjayoun plain toward the Upper Galilee, and warned that further movement could open routes toward Iqlim al-Tuffah, Jabal al-Rayhan and the Jezzine district.

Hariri said the battlefield developments could give Israel additional leverage over Lebanon in anticipated negotiations. She also argued that continued advances could entrench a buffer zone from Naqoura to the western Bekaa, geographically linked to the Syrian theater, a concept she said Israel had discussed in various forms since 2023.

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The ridge overlooks Nabatieh and the Marjayoun plain as far as the Upper Galilee, giving it considerable military and strategic importance.