Israel says it has destroyed major underground Hezbollah base

Israel announced it has destroyed a major underground Hezbollah base in southern Lebanon. The operation targeted the Ali Taher Ridge, where Israeli forces used more than 1,000 tonnes of explosives to demolish two tunnels extending more than 2 km (1.2 miles) beneath the ridge. The blast generated seismic activity equivalent to a magnitude 4.1 earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey. No immediate comment was issued by Hezbollah or the Lebanese government. Israeli troops seized control of the ridge last week after months of combat with the Iran‑backed group. The Israeli military now occupies a large swath of southern Lebanon captured after fighting with Hezbollah resumed in March. Images released by the Israel Defense Forces showed a fireball lighting up the sky. Ahmed, a resident of Nabatieh about 6 km west of the ridge, told the BBC: “The entity lit up and astir 15 seconds aboriginal we heard the terrifying sound,” He said radical were screaming and children were crying, and that cars filled the roads arsenic radical near the country for Beirut. He said the location shook each unneurotic arsenic if it was virtually an earthquake. Tremors were also felt in the coastal city of Saida, 40 km to the north. The IDF stated the underground complex included a bid centre used by Hezbollah’s Badr portion and held dozens of rockets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, anti‑tank weapons, mines and explosives. It added: “This was strategical infrastructure that was constructed implicit 2 decades, funded and planned by the Iranian panic regime,” and “All of the terrorists who were wrong the infrastructure were eliminated oregon fled.” The IDF said the demolition completed a mission to destroy eight tunnels and establish a “security zone” in the area. The latest action occurs amid renewed fighting in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces have expanded operations against Hezbollah positions and continue to hold what Israel describes as a security zone adjacent the border. Lebanese media reported recent Israeli strikes elsewhere in the south on Thursday, including Nabatieh al‑Fawqa and Mansouri in the Tyre district. The Lebanese army has increased deployments in areas outside Israeli control, including the southern city of Nabatieh, to fortify stability and reassure residents, local TV station MTV reported. Lebanon was drawn