"I want to send a message to our enemies: If you still haven't learned your lesson and choose to attack us again, you will suffer even heavier blows. There are still tasks that need to be completed," Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement posted by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office on 14/9.

Netanyahu added that the destruction of Hezbollah positions in the Beaufort and Ali al-Taher areas in Lebanon was a "resounding victory" and pledged to continue destroying the armed group's infrastructure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in East Jerusalem on 5/7. *Photo: AFP*

Last week, Israel destroyed a large-scale tunnel system located beneath the Ali al-Taher hills, where Hezbollah maintained a command center, living quarters, and weapons depots used to attack northern Israel and resist Israeli army units.

A massive fireball erupted in the area when Israel carried out the detonation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) then recorded a tremor equivalent to a 4,1-magnitude earthquake.

The explosion occurred one week after the Israeli army announced it had captured strategic high ground as it consolidated control over a "security zone" in southern Lebanon. Tel Aviv stated the tunnel network was built over two decades with support from Tehran.

Fire erupts as Israel detonates an underground facility on Ali al-Taher hill. *Photo: Israeli Ministry of Defense*

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East conflict from 2/3, when the armed group Hezbollah fired rockets into Israeli territory in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike operation. Israel responded by conducting airstrikes across Lebanon and deploying troops into the southern part of the neighboring country.

Despite a ceasefire agreement announced in June, the Israeli army accused Hezbollah forces of still operating around Ali al-Taher hill and launching suicide drones two times at Israeli soldiers nearby.

During negotiations, the U.S. proposed that the Lebanese army take over Ali al-Taher hill, but Hezbollah objected, according to a source close to the parties.

Lebanese officials stated that Israeli airstrikes have killed over 4.300 people since March. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to control the so-called "security zone" in southern Lebanon.

Ngoc Anh (According to AFP, Reuters)