Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Sunday to take control of Ali al-Taher Heights in southern Lebanon, saying the army was operationally preparing to do so, while Israel’s official public broadcaster reported a local and limited withdrawal of forces from the heights toward Beaufort Castle. In a statement issued by his office, Katz claimed that the army had killed militants and destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in the heights.
Katz threatens to prevent a return to the heights
He added that Israel would prevent Hezbollah or any other party from returning to and establishing a presence in the area, threatening to eliminate anyone who approached it. The Israeli defense minister described Ali al-Taher Heights as “part of the yellow line and Israel’s security zone in Lebanon,” which he said covered 700 square kilometers.
He stressed that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not want to move from the area, saying, “The army will not withdraw or redeploy until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon.” Meanwhile, Israel’s official public broadcaster reported that the army had withdrawn from Ali al-Taher Heights to Beaufort Castle Heights after destroying a Hezbollah tunnel network.
Israeli account of limited withdrawal
It described the move as a “local and limited withdrawal,” noting that the deployment of Israeli forces in the area remained under discussion between the army command and the political leadership. The broadcaster added that the army expected to withdraw one brigade from the area and reduce the size of its deployed forces, without clarifying the direction of the debate over the military deployment in the rest of the area.
On the ground, the Israeli army launched heavy airstrikes on towns and areas in the Nabatieh district on Sunday and also shelled the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that warplanes struck the Ali al-Taher grove on the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, then hit the area in a second strike less than 15 minutes later.
Sunday’s attacks followed a day of airstrikes, explosions, artillery fire and the dropping of explosive materials on towns and areas in the districts of Tyre, Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun in southern Lebanon. On Thursday evening, the Israeli army carried out a powerful explosion in Ali al-Taher Heights, claiming that it had targeted a Hezbollah tunnel network and infrastructure extending more than two kilometers.
Netanyahu described the site as “the largest Iranian site outside Iran.” The developments came despite a “framework formula” signed by the two sides on June 26, which provides for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the land they control in exchange for the deployment of the Lebanese army there.
