IDF Destroys Hezbollah Tunnel Network at Beaufort Ridge With 700 Tons of Explosives After Drone Attack Violated Ceasefire

The IDF destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel network beneath the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon shortly after midnight Thursday using roughly 700 tons of explosives 12. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, in a joint statement, said the operation followed a Hezbollah FPV drone strike on an IDF engineering vehicle in the Ali Taher ridge area, which they characterized as a ceasefire violation 2. The IDF said the network, built over two decades with Iranian funding, served as a command center for Hezbollah's Bader Unit and sat about six kilometers from Metula, and that dozens of drones, explosive devices, and anti-tank missiles had been launched from the site during the war 12. Netanyahu and Katz said the tunnel system formed a central component of Hezbollah's plan to invade Galilee communities in northern Israel 2. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir approved the strike, which followed a partial demolition of the same network on July 13, and officials said residents of Metula and Misgav Am were told to open windows ahead of the blasts to prevent shattering 12.