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(/build/images/svg/sprite.68b43361c11f23b39049016b32e6ae31.svg#icon-caret-down)   (https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/) Middle East     Israeli army has seized Lebanon's key Ali al-Taher ridge from Hezbollah  Middle East   Israel has seized the strategically placed Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon from Hezbollah fighters, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Friday. The Iran-aligned Shiite group did not confirm losing the highland, which sits around 10 kilometres from the border with Israel and was pummelled by Israeli strikes in recent weeks despite a ceasefire.   Issued on: 04/09/2026 - 15:27  Modified: 04/09/2026 - 15:31   (Reading time) (/build/images/svg/sprite.68b43361c11f23b39049016b32e6ae31.svg#icon-clock)    3 min Reading time   Share (/build/images/svg/sprite.68b43361c11f23b39049016b32e6ae31.svg#icon-share)      By:  (https://www.france24.com/en/author/france-24/) (FRANCE 24) FRANCE 24       (This photo, taken from the village of Al-Haniyya in southern Lebanon, shows smoke rising from a controlled explosion carried out by Israeli forces at neighboring village, Al-Mansouri, on September 4.)  This photo, taken from the village of Al-Haniyya in southern Lebanon, shows smoke rising from a controlled explosion carried out by Israeli forces at a site in the neighboring village of Al-Mansouri, on September 4, 2026.        © Kawnat Haju, AFP    Israeli troops have driven (https://www.france24.com/en/tag/hezbollah/) Hezbollah fighters from tunnels under (https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260904-middle-east-live-south-korea-prepares-for-military-deployment-in-strait-of-hormuz) the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge in southern (https://www.france24.com/en/tag/lebanon/) Lebanon , Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ​said on Friday. The Iran-aligned (https://www.france24.com/en/tag/shiite/) Shiite group did not immediately comment. (https://www.france24.com/en/tag/israel/) Israel had said Hezbollah fighters were embedded ⁠in tunnels under the ridge, which overlooks a wide area and had become (https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260815-israeli-strikes-kill-11-in-southern-lebanon-hezbollah-threatens-to-retaliate) one of the most hotly contested areas in the Israel-Hezbollah war, despite a ceasefire ‌announced in June. Read more (https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260815-israeli-strikes-kill-11-in-southern-lebanon-hezbollah-threatens-to-retaliate) Israeli strikes kill 11 in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah threatens to retaliate  "The mission was completed and the tunnels were cleared of terrorists," Katz said on social media, after a ​statement by the military late on Thursday saying it had operational control of the ridge. Reuters reported on Thursday that (https://www.france24.com/en/tag/iran/) Iran had warned the (https://www.france24.com/en/tag/usa/) United States last month that ⁠it would respond forcefully to an Israeli assault on its Hezbollah allies' positions within the ridge. For its part, the Shiite Muslim group had said it would resist any Israeli assault. The ‌Israeli military said some Hezbollah fighters had been "eliminated", while others had fled. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Reuters was not able to independently verify the status of the ridge. Watch more (https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/focus/20260902-unifil-peacekeepers-patrol-south-lebanon-caught-between-israel-and-hezbollah) UNIFIL peacekeepers patrol south Lebanon, caught between Israel and Hezbollah  The ridge, a flashpoint since Tehran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into (https://www.france24.com/en/tag/iran-conflict/) the Middle East war in March following the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader (https://www.france24.com/en/tag/ayatollah-ali-khamenei/) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , lies close to the major city of Nabatieh and the Litani river. It is just a few kilometres from UNESCO-listed Beaufort castle, another strategic site that (https://www.france24.com/en/israel-seizes-strategic-beaufort-castle-in-lebanon-issues-new-evacuation-orders) Israel captured in recent months . The Israeli military on Thursday said that the tunnel network included "command centres (and) weapons storage rooms". "The infrastructure is a strategic underground network that was built over two decades and funded and planned by the Iranian terror regime," it added. Kahwaji, who heads the INEGMA military analysis institute, said the hilltops overlook Iqlim al-Tuffah, an area further from the border where Hezbollah holds sway, as well as part of the country's east. Control of the area would therefore "give the Israelis an easy passage to move on both sides". (A satellite image shows damage at the Ali al-Taher ridge near Nabatiah, Lebanon, March 8, 2026)  A satellite image shows damage at the Ali al-Taher ridge near Nabatiah, Lebanon, March 8, 2026.        © 2026 Planet Labs PBC via Reuters    Speaking to journalists including AFP last month, Hezbollah spokesman Youssef al-Zein refused to say how many of the group's fighters were at the Ali al-Taher position. He denied any Iranian personnel were there, as had been reported in some media outlets. He said that Israel had "exaggerated the importance of Ali al-Taher" as a military objective but also vowed that Hezbollah would "defend this position as much as it can". The ridge is located right above the Litani. Hezbollah agreed to disarm in areas south of the river under a 2024 ceasefire that sought to end its previous war with Israel. Israel has expanded its ​military occupation over swathes of southern Lebanon since launching a new campaign against Hezbollah in March. In June, Israel's army published an updated map showing the parts of southern Lebanon it considers within what it calls its "security zone" where its troops are operating, expanding the area to include the Ali al-Taher ridge. (FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)     Read next   (https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/focus/20260902-unifil-peacekeepers-patrol-south-lebanon-caught-between-israel-and-hezbollah) (Focus)  (/build/images/svg/sprite.68b43361c11f23b39049016b32e6ae31.svg#icon-play)      Focus (https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/focus/20260902-unifil-peacekeepers-patrol-south-lebanon-caught-between-israel-and-hezbollah) (UNIFIL peacekeepers patrol south Lebanon, caught between Israel and Hezbollah) UNIFIL peacekeepers patrol south Lebanon, caught between Israel and Hezbollah    Middle East    (https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260901-hezbollah-hideout-stuffed-cash-ai-generated) (These screengrabs were taken from a fake, AI-generated video said to show money and gold hidden in the home of a Hezbollah commander.)   (https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260901-hezbollah-hideout-stuffed-cash-ai-generated) (A Hezbollah hideout stuffed with cash? 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