The IDF’s 36th Division has completed full operational control of the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon after what security officials described as a deception maneuver that caught Hezbollah off guard and allowed Israeli forces to open a hidden route through terrain the terror group had prepared to defend.
The division, commanded by Brig. Gen. Yiftah Norkin, was the first to enter the Taybeh area of southern Lebanon at the start of the campaign against Iran, as part of Operation Roaring Lion, in order to prevent Hezbollah’s Radwan Force from being able to infiltrate toward Kibbutz Misgav Am in the Galilee Panhandle.
Footage from Commando and Yahalom unit operations in Lebanon
(Video: IDF)
Footage released by the IDF on Thursday evening showed Hezbollah terrorists fleeing underground tunnels and being struck from the air during operations by the Commando Brigade combat team and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, operating under the 36th Division.
After the initial strike on Radwan Force positions at the start of the campaign, the 36th Division deepened its operations into the villages of Qantara and Deir Seryan. The areas stretching from there to the Litani River had long served as Hezbollah’s traditional defensive lines in previous rounds of fighting.
For an extended period, the division prepared the conditions for crossing the Litani River and the Saluki stream. Security officials said the crossings were “very complex,” involving tanks and Namer armored personnel carriers.
“Hezbollah prepared to defend these places with underground infrastructure, and we carried out a very significant diversion against it,” the officials said. “We ostensibly moved north, but in practice we broke through a route covertly while Hezbollah was distracted by our activity. This was a deception maneuver in which Hezbollah did not see the breakthrough at the ‘Litani bend.’ There, in the center of the Litani sector, a route previously defined as impassable was opened, and from there we developed a divisional attack toward the ridge south of Nabatieh.”
The officials said Israeli forces swept the Litani area as they descended into dense terrain, checking for terrorists and killing dozens of operatives there. At the same time, the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade carried out a diversionary action in the Saluki area.
“Since 1982, the IDF had not crossed rivers,” the officials said. “We carried out the bridging with tanks and opened several crossings and routes in order to climb up to the ridge. Givati forces were the first to capture the ridge. Their operation was meant to enable Golani to capture Beaufort Ridge.”
The military said Beaufort Ridge was seized for two main reasons: first, because it gave Hezbollah a commanding position for observation and fire; second, to deny the terror group its infrastructure in the area.
That infrastructure, security officials said, included a significant underground system with a hospital inside it and firing openings designed to control the routes leading into the ridge.
“We seized some of the infrastructure in advance, and then brought the armored forces up relatively smoothly,” the officials said. “At the same time, we wore down all of the enemy infrastructure and broke through in the breaching battle both westward and northward.”
According to the officials, about 20 Hezbollah terrorists were killed during the operation against the underground network.
“Some tried to flee, and we killed them as they fled,” they said. “We mapped the routes, and we will hold an assessment regarding the next stage of treatment. This allows the IDF to develop either westward or northward. It is important to stress that crossing the Litani and controlling Nabatieh alone are not enough to defeat Hezbollah, but this is a significant stage in weakening it, and it is a military opportunity that did not exist in the past.”
‘We brought in ammunition that can down drones’
The military has identified attempts by individual terrorists to reach maneuvering forces at crossings and along routes, security officials said.
“Yesterday we thwarted several terrorists, and there was an encounter with our forces,” the officials said.
According to the officials, Hezbollah is mainly using explosive drones, along with a smaller number of anti-tank missiles.
“We brought in ammunition that can down drones, and we are achieving high rates,” the officials said. “We scan during the day and operate during the day, and we hope additional systems will enter use in the near future to improve warning, detection and interception.”
The officials said the decline in casualties from drones was due to several factors, including strikes on drone operators and the forces’ improving ability to deal with the threat.
That includes the proper work of the “sky watcher,” the soldier responsible for firing at the drone, as well as better organization of vehicles and positions in the areas where the forces are operating, they said. Hezbollah, they added, is also facing problems with drone supply and manpower.
Addressing Hezbollah’s current condition, security officials said the group still retains capabilities, but has been heavily worn down.
“Hezbollah still has capabilities. It is suffering very high attrition, which is reflected in its lack of command,” the officials said. “It is deployed along the Nabatieh area line and is struggling hard to prevent the capture of additional targets. It is reinforcing the line beyond the Saluki with dozens of operatives. It has shortages of anti-tank weapons and high-trajectory fire. It is bringing forces from the Bekaa and from training sites in Beirut.”
The officials said the IDF’s current purpose remains defensive, but that the defensive mission also includes weakening Hezbollah and exacting a price from it.
“Those who decide will decide what happens next,” they said. “The division carried out the mission of reaching this area and opening the possibilities. If we are updated on new plans, we will advance accordingly. We always take into account how our actions will affect the home front, and therefore most of the operation is focused on southern Lebanon.”
The Commando Brigade combat team and Yahalom forces, operating under the 36th Division and guided by the Intelligence Directorate and Northern Command, are continuing to deepen the clearing of the underground tunnel network beneath Beaufort Ridge.
During the clearing operation, the forces found large quantities of weapons, including mortar shells, fragmentation grenades, RPG launchers, Kornet missiles, anti-aircraft machine guns and Kalashnikov rifles.
In recent days, during an Egoz unit operation to locate tunnel shafts and underground routes, a Yahalom drone identified terrorists inside one of the underground passages. The terrorists fled and fired at the drone. They were later identified together with additional terrorists who also tried to escape the underground route. The Israeli Air Force, guided by the forces on the ground, struck and killed them.