What does Israel's announcement of control over Ali Al-Taher Hill in Lebanon mean?
Published 3 hours ago
Reading time: 3 minutes
Military developments at Ali Al-Tahir Hill cannot be viewed in isolation from the general military and political landscape.
The uproar raised around this revealing strategic hill may indicate that control over it, if confirmed, is an episode within the framework of the gradual Israeli advance inside Lebanon and the expansion of the occupation of the south while strengthening this occupation militarily.
The Israeli discourse ranged from the necessity of creating what was called the security belt to expanding what is described in Israel as the security zone, all the way to what the Israeli Minister of Defense announced that Israeli control of the Ali al-Taher Heights “represents the end of the completion of the stage of tightening control over the security zone.”
Although this statement does not necessarily mean the cessation of the expansion of the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, it does indicate the military importance that the Israeli army attaches to this site.
This is what Hezbollah MP Ihab Hamadeh tried to downplay, considering that the site of Ali al-Taher Hill “like any other site or hill in southern Lebanon, has sacred existential value, and Israeli control over it is not a disaster in military reality, nor is it the end of the matter.”
In an interview with Sputnik Radio, Hamada questioned Israel’s control over Ali Al-Taher, saying: “How can the Israeli enemy claim control over Ali Al-Taher Hill when it is still bombing and raiding it continuously?! Knowing that it controls it from the air or by surrounding it from all sides geographically, without its forces being able to enter the facility or control it.”
field on it.
The BBC was unable to confirm Israel's announcement of operational control over the Ali al-Tahir hill from an independent source.
Skip the most read and keep reading
Most read
Most read end
Skip the podcast and keep reading
Worth paying attention to
An in-depth explanation of the most prominent events and topics, to help you understand the most important variables around you and their impact on your life
Episodes
End podcast
Ali Al-Taher Hill is located north of the Litani River, at an altitude of six hundred meters above sea level, and 15 kilometers from the border. It overlooks the entire Nabatieh region, and the hill connects the border areas with the Iqlim Al-Tuffah region in the south.
In this context, retired Brigadier General Fadi Daoud says that Ali Al-Taher Hill constitutes “the access line, that is, the gateway or entrance to the rest of the south. If the Israeli wants to develop its military action, it will be through that gate, so that it enters the last sector in the south from it, which extends from the Zahrani River to the Awali River, and controls the Awali River by occupying the heights of Iqlim al-Tuffah, that is, the last stronghold of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.”
According to what Israeli officials said, Hezbollah built a very extensive and sophisticated network of tunnels under Ali al-Taher Hill over the course of two decades, and that these tunnels constitute an essential location in the party’s military infrastructure. Hezbollah's control of the hill also allowed it to launch short-range missiles and drones at northern Israel.
Just hours before the Israeli announcement, Reuters also published a report in which it said that Iran had informed the United States that it would respond forcefully to any attack targeting Ali Al-Taher.
While there will be a lot of talk about the equations established by the new reality in the south, “post-Ali al-Tahir,” with regard, for example, to enshrining the so-called freedom of Israeli pre-emptive intervention and others, there is no doubt that it has turned into a political and media battle as much as it was a military battle, even if it did not witness battles in the traditional sense of the word.
In this context, it is considered that the timing of the Israeli announcement of control over it may give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an internal political boost, at a time when his government faces multiple challenges and the Israeli elections are approaching. The announcement may also represent a new blow to Hezbollah's military image, if full Israeli control of the site is established.
