IDF postpones demolition of Hezbollah tunnel and other sites in south Lebanon amid ceasefire

The IDF has postponed the demolition of several Hezbollah terror infrastructures in southern Lebanon amid the current ceasefire with the terror group, The Times of Israel has learned.

A tunnel in the southern Lebanon village of Majdal Zoun, which reporters visited last week, has not yet been demolished.

Similarly, other Hezbollah infrastructures near the Beaufort Castle, which were captured by the IDF in early June, have not yet been demolished.

Also, amid the ceasefire, the IDF halted efforts to capture a “strategic” underground Hezbollah facility beneath the Ali Taher ridge near Nabatieh.

According to the military, the Ali Taher tunnels are the “nerve center” of Hezbollah’s Badr regional division. The IDF said last week that at least 30 Hezbollah operatives remained holed up underground in the area, and fighting had taken place above and below ground.

However, on Saturday, when the IDF was instructed by Israeli leaders to halt its fire in Lebanon, the military froze its activity in the Ali Taher area and has not attempted to enter the fortified tunnels.

In the past two days, the IDF has carried out strikes on several Hezbollah operatives identified above ground in the Ali Taher area, saying they posed a threat to troops.

The instruction to halt fire in Lebanon came under heavy US pressure, as Washington holds talks with Iran on a final deal to end the war, after reaching an initial memorandum of understanding that required the US “and its allies” to halt all military activity on all fronts, explicitly including Lebanon. That deal was reached against Israel’s wishes, and Jerusalem has vowed to remain in a security zone it has captured in southern Lebanon even as US-mediated talks with Beirut are reportedly discussing a limited pullout.