WhatsappThe IDF has uncovered and begun destroying another piece of the military infrastructure Hezbollah spent decades building for its next war against Israel.
According to the IDF, troops from the 36th Division have spent the past several weeks establishing operational control over a strategic ridge and the underground network beneath it. During the operation, Israeli forces cleared two Hezbollah tunnel routes, killing several operatives while others fled the area.
This was not a temporary hideout.
The IDF describes the underground complex as a “strategic infrastructure” constructed over approximately two decades with Iranian financing and planning. Inside, troops discovered command centers, weapons storage rooms, generators, living quarters, showers and a kitchen.
In other words, Hezbollah was building the infrastructure necessary to fight from underground for extended periods while remaining protected from Israeli observation and firepower.
The tunnels were also operational. According to the military, Hezbollah terrorists used the ridge complex to launch attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF forces.
That is what makes the operation strategically important.
For years, Hezbollah transformed southern Lebanon into a massive Iranian-backed military zone. Weapons were embedded inside villages, observation positions overlooked northern Israel, and underground infrastructure allowed terrorists to prepare for prolonged combat beneath the surface.
The lesson of October 7 is that Israel can no longer afford to watch enemy armies construct offensive infrastructure along its borders and assume deterrence will prevent them from eventually using it.
The 36th Division’s operation represents the opposite approach: locate the infrastructure, seize the terrain, eliminate the terrorists and destroy the military capability before it can be used again.
The IDF says the tunnel system has now been cleared and its ability to facilitate attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers has been neutralized. Israeli forces are currently working to demolish the underground complex.
Once that mission is completed, however, the IDF indicated that it intends to establish a new defensive posture based on the evolving security assessment—language suggesting Israeli forces may ultimately withdraw from the immediate area.
Destroying Hezbollah’s tunnels is essential.
The larger strategic question is what happens after Israel leaves.
Because tunnels can be destroyed. Hezbollah operatives can be eliminated. But unless Israel ensures that Hezbollah cannot simply return and rebuild, Iran’s twenty-year investment could eventually begin all over again.
