Israel detonates 1,100 tons of explosives in Lebanon while its own framework promises withdrawal

On the night of Thursday 10 September the IDF destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel complex beneath the Ali al-Taher ridge near Nabatieh, inside the Israeli-held buffer zone in southern Lebanon. The military put the charge at 1,100 tons of explosives, via the Times of Israel, and told the Jerusalem Post the network ran more than two kilometres. Northern Israeli residents, including through the Upper Galilee Regional Council, were notified in advance that explosions would be heard: this was a declared, scheduled demolition, not a reactive strike. Army Radio, relaying Lebanese reports, said a magnitude 4.1 earthquake registered afterwards — no seismological agency has been named and the figure has so far circulated only through Israeli military radio onward to JPost, ToI and the Jewish Chronicle. The IDF says it captured and cleared the system the previous week, killing some operatives while others fled, and describes the complex as the “nerve center” of Hezbollah’s Badr regional division.

In a joint statement, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the network was built over two decades with Iranian funding and planning, that the command centre was intended as a base for an operation to conquer the Galilee and gave Hezbollah observation and fire control over Metula and Kiryat Shmona, and that its destruction “completes” Israeli operational control of the ridge above and below ground, with troops preparing to hold the area and prevent Hezbollah’s return. The physical event is confirmed by video and AFP photography from Marjayoun and Nabatieh. The purpose attributed to the tunnels is a government claim and nothing more. Demolition work continues past the ridge: an AFP image dated 11 September, shot from Hanniyeh, shows an Israeli drone carrying a box of explosives toward houses in Mansouri village.

Assessment: The interesting sentence is “completes.” In June 2026 Israel and Lebanon signed a framework committing Beirut to the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups, which would in turn enable progressive Israeli withdrawal. Language about completing a zone and preparing to defend it describes a position being consolidated, not vacated — and no Israeli outlet this week set the two texts side by side. Distrust two things: the 4.1 magnitude figure, which may be circular Israeli-media sourcing, and the Reuters report that Iran warned Washington it would respond to an offensive against the facility, since by ToI’s own account the site had already been taken and cleared. Watch Beirut and UNIFIL, not Tehran.