While political headlines dominate Israeli news, the northern border continues to simmer, demanding clear security responses. In a wide-ranging interview with Yossi Sargobsky on Kikar Hashabat, retired Colonel Oren Solomon, a national security and strategy expert, analyzed the complex campaign against Hezbollah and Iran, from ground operations on the Ali Taher ridge to the broader regional picture.
According to Solomon, the Ali Taher ridge is a strategically dominant mountain range that extends from the historic "security zone" Israel once maintained in southern Lebanon, overlooking border communities from Metula southward. Beyond its geographic importance, Solomon emphasized that the ridge served as Hezbollah's primary symbol of territorial control and resistance ideology.
The site housed an underground, fortified command center, Solomon explained. In a complex ground operation conducted primarily by specialized engineering units rather than aerial bombardment, IDF forces inserted explosives that destroyed the infrastructure and killed militants. By doing so, Israel not only neutralized a military threat but dismantled a symbolic stronghold of Hezbollah's "resistance" narrative. Addressing rumors about Iranian officers present during the operation, Solomon clarified that the IDF has no confirmation of active Iranian presence at the time of the strike, though Revolutionary Guard personnel are known to periodically visit and train Hezbollah forces in the area.
