IDF dismantles massive Iranian-funded Hezbollah tunnel network beneath Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon

Regime officials claimed that Iran’s renewal of ballistic missile fire on Israel on Sunday evening was due to Israel’s air strikes on a Hezbollah headquarters in the Dahiyeh neighborhood in southern Beirut.

Only hours before, the Israel Defense Forces released a press statement, highlighting the wider threat Hezbollah poses to Israel, both above and below ground.

The press release described a vast network of underground tunnels that Hezbollah had constructed beneath the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon, which includes the eponymous medieval crusader castle.

According to the IDF, the complex was located within a civilian area and provided operational control over the Galilee Panhandle region, just six kilometers (less than 4 miles) from the northern Israeli town of Metula, and served as a central Hezbollah hub in the area.

🔎 REVEALED: Hezbollah’s underground terror tunnel network beneath the Beaufort Ridge, planned and funded by Iran.

The tunnel network contains living quarters, water and electrical infrastructure, as well as extensive anti-tank and aerial defense capabilities intended to target… pic.twitter.com/Hjsk1K3e17

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 7, 2026

The tunnels contained living quarters, weapons storage, fighting positions and other infrastructure that would allow Hezbollah forces to use them as a base to attack the residents of the Galilee. According to the statement, the tunnel network was constructed in an area under the authority of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). The IDF said a request, relayed through UN mediators, for the LAF to inspect the site and take appropriate action went unanswered.

The statement also included a video address from IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin: “About a week ago, we launched a precise operation in the Beaufort Ridge area. It is important for me to explain why we undertook this operation. The Beaufort is a strategic geographic asset from which Hezbollah launched approximately 400 missiles toward communities in northern Israel."

Defrin continued, "In recent days, Northern Command, led by the 36th Division and acting on IDF intelligence, has been operating to dismantle a major Hezbollah underground infrastructure site in the Beaufort Ridge area. The underground network consists of multiple levels carved deep into the rocky terrain. The entire network was built over more than a decade with full funding and planning by the Iranian terror regime."

The IDF reveals a major Hezbollah tunnel system near the Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, which it says was constructed with direct Iranian assistance.

According to the military, the main reason for its raid on the Beaufort Castle area was to capture and demolish the… pic.twitter.com/hja1Iuhetf

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 7, 2026

He also said the underground complex served as a key Hezbollah command center and weapons depot, housing hundreds of operatives who coordinated the group's activities, including during the current conflict. According to Defrin, many of those operatives fled when the IDF launched its operation at Beaufort Ridge.

"This is a large and extensive underground infrastructure network that required a ground operation to dismantle. We planned this operation for a long time and waited for the appropriate operational opportunity to carry it out," Defrin said.

"The complex was struck from the air several times, and now, through a ground operation, we are working to dismantle it. Our troops surprised the enemy, approaching through deception from an unexpected direction, with the support of precise strikes by the Israeli Air Force."

He added that IDF troops were still operating in the ridge area and continuing to dismantle militant infrastructure. He also said cooperation between the military and residents of northern Israel is crucial to achieving the goals of the operation.

Defrin concluded his statement: "I want to say this as clearly as possible: our objective has remained the same from the outset. Defending the communities in northern Israel, creating a new security reality, and deepening the damage inflicted on Hezbollah. The operation at the Beaufort Ridge, like other operations we have conducted, proves this. We will not cease, stop, or relent until this objective is fully achieved.”