Israel destroyed underground Hezbollah facilities in southern Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced in a joint statement. The infrastructure has been attributed to the Iran-backed Shiite movement.
A seismic tremor measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale was recorded at the site shortly after the operation.
Journalists with Agence France-Presse in Lebanon said they felt the explosion, while images released by the Israeli defense minister showed a fireball rising into the sky.
Ali Taher hill targeted
Netanyahu and Katz said the Israeli military had destroyed underground infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, which they described as a terrorist organisation, on the Ali Taher hill, a position they called strategically important for the group. They said the strike completed the creation of a security zone in southern Lebanon.
They added that the facility was a strategic terrorist infrastructure built over two decades with Iranian funding and planning.
Lebanese agency confirms strike
Lebanon's official national news agency, known as NNA, reported that Israel had carried out a demolition operation in the area of the Ali Taher hill, near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.
An AFP correspondent said they felt vibrations before hearing a powerful explosion, while another reporter said the shock waves reached the southern city of Sidon, roughly 40 kilometres from the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Command complex and weapons stores
According to a statement from the Israeli military, a central command complex belonging to Hezbollah's Badr unit was located inside the underground facilities. The site also included weapons storage rooms and living quarters that allowed fighters to manage combat operations and remain underground for extended periods.
Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement and political party backed financially and militarily by Iran, and it has fought repeated conflicts with Israel over the past two decades.
Israeli forces to stay in area
Israel said its forces would remain in the area to prevent Hezbollah from restoring its presence and rebuilding its capabilities.
