Beaufort Ridge changes color after IDF detonates 700 tons of explosives | Watch

The effects of a massive IDF demolition operation in southern Lebanon were clearly visible a day later, with the Beaufort Ridge appearing visibly altered after troops detonated some 700 tons of explosives beneath the area. The blast was carried out overnight between Thursday and Friday in response to Hezbollah launching an explosive drone at an IDF engineering vehicle in southern Lebanon, an incident Israel described as a violation of the ceasefire. Before the detonation, residents of Israel’s northern Galilee Panhandle were advised to leave their windows open over concerns that the force of the explosion could shatter them. Images taken Friday from Marjayoun showed the ridge and the area around Beaufort Castle after the blast. Meanwhile, Lebanese media reported Saturday that a strike had taken place in the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, several kilometers northwest of Beaufort. Lebanon’s official news agency said two people were wounded. The IDF also said troops identified several Hezbollah terrorists overnight on the Ali al-Taher Ridge, in an area where Israeli forces were operating. The troops attacked and killed the terrorists to remove the threat, the military said. A combat officer was moderately wounded in the encounter and evacuated for medical treatment. His family was notified. Following the destruction of the tunnels, the IDF said forces from the 36th Division, led by the Northern Command, had destroyed several major underground routes in the Beaufort Ridge area as part of a limited operation inside Israel’s security zone in Lebanon. “The infrastructure network served as a central command compound from which Hezbollah directed combat operations and fire against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the military said. According to the IDF, the strategic underground network had been constructed over two decades and included several levels. It served as a major command center for Hezbollah’s Badr Unit in southern Lebanon and was funded and planned by the Iranian regime. The infrastructure was built about six kilometers from Metula and the Galilee Panhandle. Dozens of drones, explosive UAVs and anti-tank missiles were launched from the area, the military said. “Overnight, the IDF destroyed a significant portion of the tunnel network in the area,” the military said Friday. “In recent weeks, IDF troops completed their operational control of the Beaufort Ridge, securing and clearing the underground infrastructure and preparing it for destruction.” The IDF continues to operate around the Ali al-Taher Ridge, where the explosive drone struck the engineering vehicle. Troops spent several weeks preparing the tunnel network for demolition. Once the operational conditions were in place, the military decided to destroy the central infrastructure beneath the Beaufort Ridge. The tunnels were not being used at the time to shelter Hezbollah terrorists. Several additional underground routes remain in the area and are being monitored by the IDF. On July 13, Israeli forces destroyed one tunnel belonging to the network. Following the latest operation, most of the Hezbollah tunnel system in the Beaufort area has now been destroyed.