IDF's Egoz says forces captured Ali Taher Ridge, cleared 14 tunnel routes
Topic: defense & securityRegion: middle eastUpdated: i1 outletsSources: 1Spectrum: Right Only⏱ 3 min read⚠ 48h+ old
Story Summary
SITUATION
The IDF captured Ali Taher Ridge and cleared 14 tunnel routes during an operation codenamed “Chisel of Flames,” Egoz Special Forces commander Lt.-Col. "M" told The Jerusalem Post.
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KEY FACTS
- The IDF captured the Ali Taher Ridge and took control of tunnel networks there, according to The Jerusalem Post.
- The tunnel routes on the ridge stretched about 5.4 km in total, the Post reported.
- The Post said the ridge assault lasted months and that fighters entrenched in the tunnel were estimated to number around 50.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The immediate backdrop is the wider regional war that erupted after coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military infrastructure in March 2026; those strikes followed a period of escalating Iranian-backed attacks on regional targets and were followed by sustained reciprocal operations across multiple fronts, including heavy exchanges along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
Tensions on that northern front intensified as Hezbollah expanded cross‑border operations and fortified positions in southern Lebanon in the months leading up to these exchanges, deploying tunnel networks and static defenses along ridgelines that commanders had long identified as tactically significant.
Brief
The IDF captured Ali Taher Ridge and cleared 14 tunnel routes in a months‑long operation the army named “Chisel of Flames,” Egoz Special Forces commander Lt.-Col. "M" told The Jerusalem Post.
Egoz and Yahalom Tunnel Special Forces led the assault, encountered explosive drones and cleared a tunnel network the Post says stretched roughly 5.4 km and sheltered an estimated 50 entrenched fighters.
Lt.-Col. "M" described the terrain as the most complex the IDF has fought on in recent years: a 600‑meter‑high ridge with very few ascent paths that had been heavily booby‑trapped. The Post attributes the booby‑traps to Hezbollah and reports that the tunnel routes were physically cleared and destroyed by the specialized units.
The account in The Jerusalem Post emphasizes the length and difficulty of the operation, the tactical challenges of steep, narrow approaches, and the use of tunnel‑specialist engineering units to render the subterranean positions unusable.
The report presents those outcomes as confirmed by field commanders but does not provide independent casualty figures, damage assessments beyond tunnel destruction, or on‑the‑record statements from Hezbollah.
The Post’s testimony from Lt.-Col. "M" frames the operation in technical and tactical detail — unit names, codename, tunnel length, and drone threats — while leaving broader political aims or subsequent operational consequences unreported in the article.
For readers, the key confirmed facts are who fought (Egoz and Yahalom), what they did (captured the ridge, cleared and destroyed 14 tunnel routes), and the principal tactical difficulty (a 600‑meter ridge with limited paths and booby‑traps).
Sources
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