By Nayera Abdallah
BEIRUT, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, which is named after a Shi'ite Muslim scholar whose shrine sits at its summit, has become one of the most contested pieces of ground in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The cluster of hills is not especially large. But what it overlooks in southern Lebanon — and what Hezbollah is suspected to have built beneath it — thrust it to the centre of the fight between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.
WHERE IS IT?
Located about 15 km (10 miles) from the Israeli border, the Ali al-Taher ridge has a commanding view of a broad sweep of southeastern Lebanon. Israel held it during a 22-year occupation of south Lebanon that ended in 2000.
After the current war erupted on March 2, Israeli troops pushed deep into southern Lebanon and seized key hilltops, including the historic Beaufort Castle on the route to Ali al-Taher.
In June, Israel's military described the ridge as one of its "primary operational focuses," and included it in a map of an expanded, self-declared buffer zone where its troops are operating.
The ridge has effectively become a dividing point between a swathe of Lebanese territory occupied by Israeli troops to the south, and towns to the north that Israel's air force has bombed heavily, including Nabatieh.
WHY IS IT STRATEGIC?
Hezbollah is believed to have built an underground command centre and weapons stores within the ridge itself, Lebanese security sources told Reuters in July. At 600 metres above sea level, it granted Hezbollah an advantage in launching short-range missiles and drones towards northern Israel, according to analysts.
Ali al-Taher also connects border areas in southern Lebanon to the hilly Iqlim al-Tuffah region further north, which has long served as a key logistical and operational base for Hezbollah, the Lebanese security sources said.
The Israeli air force has struck the ridge heavily in recent months.
In June, an Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Hezbollah fighters were stuck underground without food or water. The Times of Israel, citing a military probe, said on June 20 that one Israeli soldier was killed and 13 wounded during operations to capture a major underground Hezbollah facility beneath the ridge.
Hezbollah has said that Israel has sought to advance but that its fighters still had "full control over the area and are at complete readiness to confront any attempt by the enemy forces to advance or infiltrate."
In July, the Israeli military said it would "not allow Hezbollah terrorists to emerge from the underground terrorist infrastructure and operate in the area or pose a threat" to Israeli soldiers.
WHAT IS THE POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE?
Ali al-Taher lies near Zawtar Al Gharbiyeh, a town from which Israeli troops withdrew in July as part of a U.S.-brokered roadmap that would see Israeli troops gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon as Lebanese troops disarm Hezbollah.
But with Hezbollah refusing to give up its weapons — and Israel saying it won't withdraw until the group disarms — that plan has ground to a halt.
As Israeli elections planned for October draw closer, capturing Ali al-Taher could be an attractive prize for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
"Before the elections, Israel needs a big win in an area that has always been seen as a Hezbollah stronghold," said Andrea Tenenti, a strategic communications expert and former spokesperson for the U.N. force in Lebanon, UNIFIL.
Still, it may prefer a slow siege to avoid Israeli troop casualties, said Hassan Jouni, a Lebanese analyst and retired army general.
"Israel is hesitant to storm Ali al-Taher for fear of casualties, especially at this sensitive moment before elections," Jouni told Reuters.
The deadlock in Lebanon mirrors the wider Middle East standoff — negotiations between the United States and Iran remain stalled, with no breakthrough in sight.
(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah in Beirut, Maayan Lubell, Lina Oudieh, and Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem, Editing by Maya Gebeily)
