Israel said on Thursday (September 10, 2026) it demolished key tunnels built by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group beneath the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, triggering a 4.1 magnitude tremor.

AFP journalists in the area heard several explosions. In a video shared by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, a huge fireball can be seen rising into the night sky.

The explosion comes a few days after Israeli authorities claimed to have taken control of the Ali al-Taher ridge, saying that the pro-Iranian Hezbollah had dug numerous tunnels there, allowing it to attack Israel from this mountainous area.

Israeli troops occupy part of southern Lebanon, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to establish a “security zone” to prevent any attacks on the north of his country.

“This is strategic terrorist infrastructure that was built over two decades, with Iranian funding and planning,” Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Katz said in a joint statement.

The destruction “completes the achievement of operational control over the Ali al-Taher ridge — above and below ground”, the statement added.

The United States Geological Survey reported a 4.1 magnitude tremor in the area, after Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israel carried out a “massive explosion” on the Ali al-Taher ridge in the Nabatieh region, “causing tremors and a powerful rumble”.

AFP journalists in south Lebanon also said they heard “huge explosions” on Thursday (September 11) evening.

“We were sitting there and everything shook,” Joelle Fares, who recently moved to Majayoun, told AFP.

The Israeli army said the Hezbollah infrastructure extended for more than two kilometres (1.2 miles) and contained “dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles, and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), as well as machine guns, dozens of anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of mines and explosive devices”.

The underground compound also included a command centre of Hezbollah’s “Badr” unit, the army added.

A military official told AFP that some of the militants that had operated in the area of the ridge had abandoned it, while others were “eliminated by aerial strikes and artillery fire”.

The official said Hezbollah members had dug eight underground routes to move safely beneath the ridge, and several dozen explosive drones and hundreds of mines were seized by the Israeli army.

In March, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East war in support of its backer Iran.

There had been a lull in violence after the understanding reached between Iran and the United States in June, followed by an agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

But strikes have increased in intensity in recent days.

During negotiations, the United States, which sponsored the talks, proposed that the Lebanese army take control of the Ali al-Taher ridge, but Hezbollah refused, a source close to the parties told AFP.

Beirut authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,300 people in total since March, and Israeli forces continue to occupy a so-called “security zone” in the south.

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key ally of Hezbollah, on Monday (June 29, 2026) slammed a U.S.-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel, warning it could lead ‌to attempts to divide Lebanese and said it would not be implemented.

Israeli officials suggested the agreement would ​move forward in the coming days, but there were no immediate reports of any aspects of the deal being ⁠implemented on the ground.

In comments to Lebanon’s al-Akhbar newspaper, Mr. Berri described Iran-U.S. talks as the only realistic opportunity to secure Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and that any attempt to separate Lebanon from the U.S.-Iran track would prolong Israeli occupation.

Israel has occupied a swathe of southern Lebanon in a war with Hezbollah that ‌began on March 2, when the group opened fire at Israel after Iran came under U.S.-Israeli attack.

The Lebanon war has been a central part of diplomacy towards ending the wider U.S.-Iran conflict. Tehran has insisted on a Lebanon ceasefire ‌as part of its interim deal with Washington, while the U.S. has sponsored separate talks between the Lebanese and Israeli governments, ‌which ⁠Beirut has attended despite Hezbollah’s objections.

Israel has praised the agreement, signed by the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to Washington ⁠on Friday (June 26, 2026), with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it allows Israeli forces to continue to occupy southern Lebanon if Hezbollah does not disarm.

Hezbollah, which has demanded Beirut quit its face-to-face talks with the Israeli government, has rejected the deal as a surrender to Israel.

Berri dismisses Lebanon-Israel agreement as ‘diktats’

The agreement foresees Lebanon’s Army taking over territory pending ​verified disarmament of non-state groups — a reference to Hezbollah — saying ‌this would enable Israel’s military “to progressively redeploy out of” Lebanon. Lebanon’s army would gradually assume responsibility in “pilot zones”.

A senior Israeli official said the pilot zone process under which troops would withdraw would begin “immediately”, without elaborating. A second Israeli official said the “redeployment” from the pilot zones might begin in the coming days.

The zones, according to maps published by the Israeli government, include the Lebanese villages of ‌Froun, Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh and Ghandouriyeh.

Two Israeli officials said separately that these areas had been taken by Israeli forces recently, without ​specifying exactly when, to use as leverage in negotiations.

A satellite image of Froun, taken on June 24 by Airbus, showed destruction to large parts of the village.

Mr. Berri, head of the Shia Muslim Amal Movement, described the agreement ⁠as “diktats”. Al-Akhbar quoted Mr. Berri as saying the most dangerous aspect of the agreement was not only its political content, but “the potential for it to incite internal divisions and draw the Lebanese into a confrontation among themselves”.

The agreement “won’t be implemented”, al-Akhbar cited him as saying.

The intensity of hostilities in ‌Lebanon in the south has abated this month, as Iran has insisted on its demand for a Lebanon ceasefire in talks with the U.S., and as Israel has scaled back attacks in Lebanon at Washington’s behest.

The U.S.-Iran interim agreement requires both countries and their allies to end military operations on all fronts including Lebanon. Iran is also seeking Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on June 16 that a full end to the war would not be achieved without Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will keep its troops in the southern ‘security’ belt it is occupying for as long as is necessary to prevent Hezbollah invading or firing at Israeli border ‌towns.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem condemned the U.S.-Israel-Lebanon framework agreement on Saturday (June 27, 2026), saying it is a major mistake by the government and that his group deems it null and void.

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The agreement — which includes a pilot effort in which Lebanese soldiers take control of two areas currently occupied by Israel, as well as a process aimed at disarming Hezbollah — was signed in Washington on Friday (June 27, 2026) after five rounds of talks.

“The framework agreement in Washington is humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty. This agreement is null and void, and the provisions of the Iranian-American memorandum of understanding must be implemented,” Mr. Qassem said in a statement, referring to the deal to end the broader West Asian war, which includes a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Lebanon was drawn into the regional war on March 2 when Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and an invasion of southern Lebanon, where its troops occupy swathes of territory and have been carrying out extensive demolitions of homes and other buildings.

Mr. Qassem called on the government to withdraw from “its sins that are ruining Lebanon”.

He accused Lebanese authorities of committing a “grave blunder” and “legitimising the continuation of the [Israeli] occupation for many years,” which “may even lead to the annexation of these lands”.

Hezbollah strongly rejects direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, which have been ongoing since April.

An April 17 ceasefire failed to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, but the violence has decreased since the U.S. and Iran reached a memorandum of understanding last week.

Iran insists that any deal to end the broader war must include Lebanon, while the Lebanese government has repeatedly tried to separate itself from this track.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun considered the agreement “a first step” to restoring his country’s sovereignty.

According to the text of the deal shared by the U.S. State Department, Lebanon and Israel, officially at war for decades, expressed their intent to “conclusively end the conflict, address its underlying causes, and to therewith formally conclude any state of war between them”.

The agreement sets up a process during which Lebanon’s military is due to “restore effective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory, pending the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups”.

Shortly after the deal was announced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces would remain in occupied Lebanese territory “as long as Hezbollah has not disarmed”.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Friday (June 26, 2026) said Israel has “no option” but to withdraw from Lebanese areas it occupies, adding that the Iran-U.S. deal that reduced fighting with Israel was an American-Israeli defeat.

His televised speech was made as Shia Muslims across the country were marking Ashura, a day of mourning for the death of Hussein, a key figure in Shia Islam.

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Tens of thousands of supporters participated in a ceremony in Beirut’s southern suburbs, waving Hezbollah and Iranian flags in the largest gathering organised by the pro-Iran group since the outbreak of war in March.

“Israel has no option but to withdraw completely from every inch of our Lebanese land… Israel must leave unconditionally,” Mr. Qassem said.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the regional war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

Israel responded with airstrikes and an invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,200 people.

Under U.S. pressure, Lebanese officials began direct talks in April with Israel in Washington, and a truce was announced on April 17 but failed to stop the fighting.

A new ceasefire was declared this month as Tehran insists that its deal with the U.S. to end the West Asia war must include Lebanon.

Lebanese authorities reported six deaths in Israeli attacks this week.

As Lebanon and Israel hold their fifth round of talks in Washington, Mr. Qassem said his group would accept “no normalisation, no cancellation of the state of hostility, no gains for Israel”.

The leader also thanked Iran for its support, considering the deal with Washington “an official declaration of the defeat of America and Israel”.

Since the start of the war, Lebanese authorities have been trying to separate their negotiation track from the Iran war talks.

Abeer Ayash, a 48-year-old who lost her home and several family members to Israeli strikes, told AFP she is “here today… for the resistance fighters in the south who are sacrificing for us and for the entire nation”.

“We renew our pledge to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” the Hezbollah leader killed by Israel in 2024, “to Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and to Sayyed Mojtaba,” the former and current Iranian supreme leaders.

“We will not abandon this path, even if we all become martyrs.”

Hezbollah on Tuesday (June 9, 2026) urged Lebanese authorities to mend their relationship with the group’s backer Iran and benefit from Tehran’s support, days after Iran struck Israel in response to bombardment on south Beirut.

Last week, Lebanon’s President and Prime Minister issued pointed calls for Tehran to stop interfering in their country’s affairs, after Hezbollah rejected a conditional ceasefire with Israel.

“We call on the Lebanese authorities to seize the opportunity available and correct their official relationship with the Islamic republic in a way that serves the interest of both states,” a Hezbollah statement said.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the West Asia war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

Iran insists a halt to the wider West Asia conflict must include a ceasefire in Lebanon. Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday (June 7) in response to Israel bombing Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Iran warned it would resume attacks on Israel if the latter kept striking Lebanon. Iran and Israel, which fired back on Monday (June 8) halted the fresh hostilities.

Hezbollah said Iran’s attack on Israel “in defence of our Lebanese people is a message of the Islamic republic’s commitment, morally, politically and on the ground, towards Lebanon”.

It urged Lebanese authorities to “use this Iranian support to achieve our national objectives, particularly in light of the formation of a new regional umbrella that has emerged from the Islamabad negotiations”.

Hezbollah rejects recent direct talks between the Israeli and Lebanese authorities, mediated by Washington. Pakistan has been mediating between the United States and Iran to end the regional conflict.

On Tuesday (June 9), the heads of the Pakistani and Lebanese armed forces agreed to boost cooperation as they met in Pakistan.

Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed nine people, including two children, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Thursday (April 30, 2026), shortly after the President decried what he described as ongoing Israeli violations of a nearly two-week ceasefire.

Israel has pressed its attacks on Lebanon as the fragile ceasefire, announced after a round of direct talks between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington, neared its two-week mark.

An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon on Saturday (March 28, 2026) killed three journalists who were covering the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, their TV stations said.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV said that its longtime correspondent Ali Shoeib was killed on Saturday (March 28, 2026) in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military said that it had targeted Shoeib, accusing him of being a Hezbollah intelligence operative without providing evidence.

Meanwhile, Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said reporter Fatima Ftouni was killed in the same airstrike in the southern district of Jezzine along with her brother Mohammed, a video journalist. She had just been on air with a live report from southern Lebanon before the strike.

Top officials in Lebanon condemned the strike, with President Joseph Aoun calling it a “flagrant crime that violates all laws and agreements that protect journalists.”

Al-Manar said in a report that an Israeli airstrike targeted journalists, leading to the “martyrdom of the icon of resistance media.” A well-known Lebanese war correspondent, Shoeib had covered south Lebanon for Al-Manar for nearly three decades.

The Israeli army claimed that Shoeib was “operating systematically to expose the locations of [Israeli] soldiers operating in southern Lebanon.” The army also accused him of maintaining contact with Hezbollah militants and inciting against Israeli troops and civilians, without elaborating.

Al-Manar TV did not respond to the Israeli allegations but described its correspondent as “distinguished by his professional and credible reporting of events.”

Israel’s claim mirrored past Israeli military allegations against Palestinian journalists that it targeted in its war on Hamas the Gaza Strip, accusing them of being Hamas militants posing as reporters.

The Israeli military did not mention the two others who died in its statement.

Since the last Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, Israel’s air force has struck Hezbollah’s civilian targets, including the headquarters of Al-Manar and the group’s Al-Nour radio station.

Saturday’s (March 28, 2026) strike came days after an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut killed Mohammed Sherri, the head of political programs at Al-Manar TV, along with his wife.

The latest deaths bring the number of journalists and media workers killed this year in Lebanon to five.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that freelance photojournalist Hussain Hamood, who used to collaborate with Al-Manar TV, was also killed on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) in the southern city of Nabatiyeh.

Hezbollah said on Thursday (March 19, 2026) its fighters were battling Israeli forces in south Lebanon, as a military source on the ground said Israeli troops were slowly advancing while “systematically destroying” border towns.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Read: Iran-Israel war LIVE

Israel responded with intense strikes on Lebanon that have killed at least 968 people and displaced over a million more, according to local authorities, and by launching ground operations in the south.

In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters had ambushed Israeli troops entering the border town of Taybeh and destroyed a tank.

“The enemy then attempted to continue its advance” from a nearby area, but fighters “again targeted them with guided missiles, scoring direct hits and destroying five Merkava tanks”, Hezbollah added.

“Enemy soldiers were seen fleeing the area of engagement.”

The Israeli army announced on Monday that it had launched “limited” ground operations in Lebanon.

A military source in south Lebanon told AFP that the Israeli army was advancing slowly and “systematically destroying” the border villages it enters.

‘Violent night’

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported a “violent night” in Khiam and Taybeh, saying the towns were “targeted by several airstrikes and subjected to heavy artillery shelling that continued until dawn”.

On Wednesday (March 18, 2026), Hezbollah said it had repelled an attempt by “Israeli enemy soldiers to advance” in Khiam.

In recent days, the group has reported targeting Israeli forces on the border with Lebanon and inside Lebanese towns such as Khiam.

The town overlooks part of southern Lebanon and northern Israel and was the first point into which Israeli forces advanced after the start of the war.

It was also the site of intense clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah during their last war in 2024.

The military source on the ground, who requested anonymity, said that Israeli soldiers “have almost captured the town”.

“They advance one or two kilometres a day and take the time to systematically destroy the towns they enter, such as Kfar Kila or Aitaroun,” he added.

“They bulldoze what is not destroyed by airstrikes or artillery” while “they are engaged in ground fighting against Hezbollah, whose men are fighting in small groups”.

Israel has issued warnings to all residents south of the Zahrani River, more than 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border, to evacuate, and has said it wants to create a buffer zone in Lebanon to protect residents of north Israel.

On Wednesday, the UN peacekeeping force said it was deeply concerned by a “violent escalation” in Lebanon, citing “intensified air and ground activity, and increased presence of Israeli forces inside Lebanese territory”.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday (March 14, 2026) said Lebanon was ready to engage in “direct talks” with Israel and offered to host negotiations in Paris.

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“The Lebanese government has signalled its willingness to engage in direct talks with Israel,” he said on X, adding that “all sections of society must be represented in these talks.”

“France is ready to facilitate these talks by hosting them in Paris,” Mr. Macron said, adding he had spoken to the President and Prime Minister of Lebanon, a former French protectorate.

“Everything must be done to prevent Lebanon from descending into chaos,” Mr. Macron added.

“Hezbollah must immediately halt its reckless course. Israel must abandon plans for a large-scale offensive and cease its massive air strikes.”

Lebanon was drawn into the West Asia war last week when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Friday (March 13, 2026) his group was ready for a long confrontation with Israel.

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Israel issued an evacuation warning for a village in southern Lebanon on Saturday (December 13, 2025) ahead of what it said was a planned strike against infrastructure of the Hezbollah militant group.

A military spokesperson said the Israeli military would attack the site in the village of Yanouh in southern Lebanon. It would be the second such attack within days, after Israel hit what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon on Tuesday (December 9, 2025).

Israel and Lebanon have both sent civilian envoys to a military committee monitoring their ceasefire, a step towards meeting a months-old U.S. demand that they broaden talks in line with President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace agenda.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in 2024, ending more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that had culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed militant group. Since then, the sides have traded accusations over violations.