{ "archive_path": "archive/1789639567.446819", "base_url": "www.ynetnews.com/article/rkbl2h00kzl", "basename": "rkbl2h00kzl", "bookmarked_date": "2026-09-17 10:06", "canonical": { "archive_org_path": "https://web.archive.org/web/www.ynetnews.com/article/rkbl2h00kzl", "dom_path": "output.html", "favicon_path": "favicon.ico", "git_path": "git/", "google_favicon_path": "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.ynetnews.com", "headers_path": "headers.json", "htmltotext_path": "htmltotext.txt", "index_path": "index.html", "media_path": "media/", "mercury_path": "mercury/content.html", "pdf_path": "output.pdf", "readability_path": "readability/content.html", "screenshot_path": "screenshot.png", "singlefile_path": "singlefile.html", "warc_path": "warc/", "wget_path": "www.ynetnews.com/article/rkbl2h00kzl.html" }, "domain": "www.ynetnews.com", "extension": "", "hash": "7N1XJSAYY9V9FNJJ3V4W", "history": { "archive_org": [], "dom": [], "favicon": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--max-time", "120", "--output", "favicon.ico", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.ynetnews.com" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-17T13:37:29.741937+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "favicon.ico", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789639567.446819", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-17T13:37:29.180785+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "git": [], "headers": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--head", "--max-time", "120", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkbl2h00kzl" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-17T13:37:30.238558+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "headers.json", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789639567.446819", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-17T13:37:29.751281+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "htmltotext": [], "media": [], "mercury": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/@postlight/parser/cli.js", "https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkbl2h00kzl" ], "cmd_version": "1.0.0", "end_ts": "2026-09-17T13:37:58.745880+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "mercury", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789639567.446819", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-17T13:37:54.662837+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "pdf": [], "readability": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/readability-extractor/readability-extractor", "/tmp/tmp7r7xi0nt", "https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkbl2h00kzl" ], "cmd_version": "0.0.11", "end_ts": "2026-09-17T13:37:54.653684+00:00", "index_texts": [ "Maglan and Yahalom commanders describe months of ambushes, close-range fighting and underground warfare before Israeli forces destroyed what the IDF called a strategic Hezbollah complex in southern LebanonThree months of exhausting ambushes, close-range fighting and underground warfare on southern Lebanon\u2019s Ali Taher Ridge culminated last Thursday night when Israeli commandos and combat engineers blew up what the IDF described as a major strategic Hezbollah underground complex.Commanders from Maglan, the IDF commando unit specializing in operations deep behind enemy lines, and Yahalom, its elite combat engineering unit, told ynet how their troops gradually tightened control over the ridge, forced Hezbollah terrorists out of underground positions and destroyed the network just before the Rosh Hashanah holiday.Footage of the destruction of underground routes on Ali Taher Ridge (Video: IDF)\u201cSoldiers slept outside in the brush, spending hours in ambushes, in the cold and the heat, to hunt the terrorists,\u201d said Lt. Col. R., commander of Maglan.The operation followed months of fighting north of the Litani River, including at Beaufort Ridge, before Israeli forces moved toward Ali Taher.\u201cWe reached the ridge about three months ago,\u201d R. said. \u201cThe unit captured the village of Mazraat Ali Taher together with Egoz, and then we began taking control of the ridge. We engaged Hezbollah terrorists, began moving into the ridge through ambushes and movement in the brush, built an intelligence picture and started to \u2018choke\u2019 the area.\u201dLt. Col. D., commander of a Yahalom company, said the mission was part of a series of operations known as \u201cMerom Harim.\u201d\u201cFirst at Beaufort Ridge, we found many strategic underground routes intended to defend the ridge, prevent the IDF from crossing the Litani and provide Hezbollah with command and control,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we arrived at Ali Taher Ridge about three months ago, our mission was to locate, investigate and destroy the infrastructure. It was an extremely complex mission, the most complex I have carried out in my military service and probably the most significant.\u201dGalleryEgoz Unit operations on Ali Taher Ridge (Photo: IDF)The terrain made the operation particularly difficult.\u201cIt was very hard to reach the mountain and work there,\u201d D. said, describing thick vegetation, boulders and the distance from other Israeli forces. \u201cWe were in terrain that was not operationally held, about a kilometer and a half from where the troops were positioned.\u201dThe topography complicated casualty evacuation and logistics, he said, while dozens of Hezbollah terrorists operated in the area and repeatedly targeted Israeli troops with drones and indirect fire.The early fighting was costly.During the battle for the village, Sgt. First Class Nir Ben Ari was killed by a rocket and several other soldiers were wounded.Body-camera footage from one of the underground routes (Photo: IDF)\u201cI will never forget one moment,\u201d R. said. \u201cThe incident in the village was very difficult, and you saw everyone moving forward, soldiers running into the fire to save their friends.\u201dOne badly wounded soldier survived because of the actions of those around him, R. said.\u201cThe doctor at the hospital told me he was one of the most seriously wounded soldiers of the war. Today he is rehabilitating. That is the fighting spirit. The next day after that incident, they got up and continued the operation to capture the same village.\u201dAs Israeli forces advanced, they began discovering the scale of Hezbollah\u2019s preparations on the ridge.\u201cWe put together the intelligence picture on the ground and realized there was a fortified site that had been prepared for a very long time, a strategic asset,\u201d R. said.Sgt. First Class Nir Ben AriTroops found terrorists inside infrastructure, surveillance cameras, booby traps, explosive devices, rocket launchers, Grad rockets, drones and unmanned aircraft, he said.\u201cSuddenly we found cameras inside the brush. Some were closed-circuit cameras and some were intelligence-gathering cameras,\u201d R. said. \u201cOnly when you move through the brush do you discover them and understand there is an enemy there.\u201dThe Israeli troops settled into a routine of prolonged concealed ambushes.\u201cEvery soldier would prepare for an ambush lasting several days, move covertly, reach the position, remain there hidden with special equipment and wait patiently,\u201d he said.\u05de\u05e6\u05dc\u05de\u05ea \u05d2\u05d5\u05e3 \u05e9\u05dc \u05d4\u05ea\u05d9\u05e2\u05d5\u05d3 \u05d4\u05de\u05d1\u05e6\u05e2\u05d9 \u05d1\u05d0\u05d7\u05d3 \u05d4\u05ea\u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05d9\u05dd(Photo: IDF)The biggest challenge was figuring out Hezbollah\u2019s underground system.\u201cWe faced a puzzle: How do you crack Ali Taher Ridge and the underground infrastructure beneath it?\u201d D. said.The IDF brought specialists from across the military and formed teams to devise methods to force Hezbollah terrorists out of the tunnels, according to the officer.Israeli forces cut off supplies being delivered by drones and conducted foot searches for shafts, using clues such as metal beneath rocks, openings in the ground and weapons positioned near suspected exits.Two underground routes were discovered at roughly the same time, D. said. One was penetrated after about a month and the second after roughly six weeks.Footage from one of the underground routes uncovered: \u2018Operating rooms, command centers, as well as toilets and kitchenettes\u2019 (Photo: IDF)The long ambushes eventually led to close-range encounters.\u201cWhen you push deeper into the ridge, you see the enemy starting to shrink back,\u201d R. said. \u201cOne day we took down a camera, and then you see terrorists fleeing and others trying to stick their heads out of shafts.\u201dIsraeli soldiers also saw Hezbollah trying to resupply those underground.\u201cYou see a drone above you and then a package drops,\u201d R. said. \u201cYou open it and find food and cigarettes.\u201dHe said troops encountered two kinds of Hezbollah fighters.\u201cOne type came from outside and tried to help those underground. They came in uniforms with weapons and combat vests, and some tried to disguise themselves with blankets or camouflage suits. It was very professional equipment.\u201dDuring the operation, he said, dozens of Hezbollah terrorists were killed either by drones or in close-range fighting.\u201cThe second type was the enemy fleeing from underground wearing civilian clothes and carrying Kalashnikov rifles,\u201d R. said. \u201cWe applied tremendous pressure. Either the enemy abandoned the area or we killed them.\u201dYahalom troops used a series of classified measures aimed at making it increasingly difficult for Hezbollah terrorists to remain underground, D. said.\u201cOnce we had a precise grip on the area and a full picture of who was inside, we carried out various classified actions that ultimately caused the enemy to leave the underground infrastructure,\u201d he said.\u201cWe carried out actions that disturbed them and made them uncomfortable, to the point where it became almost impossible to remain on those levels. We brought them above ground in order to eliminate them.\u201dThe troops also used loudspeakers and attempted negotiations with those inside, he said.Once inside the tunnels, the soldiers found what commanders described as an unusually sophisticated complex stretching for several kilometers.\u201cThere were operating rooms and medical equipment, command rooms and operations centers, as well as toilets, ventilation systems and kitchenettes,\u201d R. said. \u201cThere was important intelligence material and weaponry, and above all we saw that they had really planned for these moments of war, so they could attack and command from there.\u201dHe said the underground command infrastructure had been intended to support Hezbollah forces targeting northern Israeli communities and Israeli troops crossing the Litani.D. said the operating rooms were among the most striking discoveries.\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a clinic,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a room with surgical equipment, medications, anesthetics and beds, something I had not seen elsewhere.\u201dThe officers said maintaining the operation for months required soldiers to remain in harsh field conditions for prolonged periods.\u201cThe morale in the unit is among the most exceptional I have ever encountered,\u201d D. said. \u201cThe soldiers of the company did not go home for three months. They didn\u2019t wash their faces and didn\u2019t eat like normal people. They slept outside in the brush, in the cold and the heat, for hours during long ambushes.\u201d\u201cThey did what was needed to complete the mission because they understood its importance. They did not complain.\u201dR. said the campaign had tested the unit after commanders were wounded and Ben Ari was killed.\u201cWe have an incredible generation,\u201d he said. \u201cSoldiers and commanders were wounded, returned and were wounded again during this round.\u201dHe said Maglan\u2019s approach was built around finding ways to outmaneuver the enemy through concealment, patience and sustained pressure.\u201cThat is the spirit of Maglan, how do I get around the enemy,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is what allowed us to move forward, camouflage ourselves and find the enemy through very long, painstaking work.\u201dThe operation reached its climax with the destruction of the underground infrastructure just before the holiday.Ahead of the demolition, R. took the soldiers to Beaufort, where they could see northern Israeli communities from the commanding heights.\u201cYou see everything from there,\u201d he said. \u201cYou see the communities in the north, and you don\u2019t need much explanation about what that commanding position means.\u201dThe soldiers were told the demolition might take place before or after the holiday.\u201cThey said, \u2018Rosh Hashanah or no Rosh Hashanah, we don\u2019t care about being home for the holiday. We are not leaving here until we blow it up,\u2019\u201d R. recalled.\u201cIn the end we made it and got out right at the buzzer. 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