Israel's defense establishment is intensifying its forces' hold in southern Lebanon following the elimination of Hezbollah terrorists and the destruction of terror tunnels under the Ali al-Taher Ridge.
The IDF is currently deployed to enforce its control over the ridge to prevent any element from attempting to renew military presence.
Defense Minister Israel Katz discussed the deployment in the area on Sunday, saying: "The Ali al-Taher Ridge is part of the Yellow Line and Israel's security zone in Lebanon. The IDF is deployed to hold the ridge and prevent an attempt by Hezbollah or anyone else from returning to and reestablishing it. Whoever approaches the ridge will be destroyed."
Minister Katz detailed the policies being enacted on the ground: "The Ali al-Taher Ridge is part of the Yellow Line and Israel's security zone in Lebanon, which encompasses 700 square kilometers from the coast in the west, and passes through the Beaufort Castle and the Hermon area in the east. As Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have made clear many times: we are not leaving the security area, and the IDF will not withdraw or redeploy until Hezbollah is disarmed across Lebanon."
The Minister further explained the planned operational measures in southern Lebanon going forward: "The IDF will continue to operate forcefully in the security area and to eliminate terrorists and terrorist infrastructure below and above ground and to remove any threat to our forces, anywhere."
Channel 12 reported earlier that the IDF withdrew from Ali al-Taher Ridge over the past day, after it completed the destruction of Hezbollah's underground infrastructure in the area.
According to the report, Israeli forces are redeploying along the Yellow Line, after it was decided not to withdraw from the Beaufort Castle. At the same time, the military is considering continued deployment in the area.
Despite the withdrawal from the ridge, the IDF continued over the past two days to conduct strikes in the Ali al-Taher area and the nearby villages to prevent Hezbollah terrorists from returning to areas already clear of terrorists.