Heavy shelling and evacuations mark Israeli push toward Ali al-Taher hill: here is what we know

Report by Petra Abou Haidar, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Israeli forces are attempting to advance toward Ali al-Taher hill. So far, troops have reached only the base of the hill as developments continue on the ground.

Israeli forces have been gradually advancing inside Kfar Tebnit, south of the hill, amid gunfire from Hezbollah fighters. The advance has been met with heavy shelling, which has caused widespread destruction in the area.

As the advance continued, Israeli troops reached the eastern junction leading to the road toward the hill. The movement suggests efforts to secure the exposed route before continuing the operation, likely by establishing earthen berms to protect troops from potential attacks from surrounding areas, particularly Nabatieh al-Fawqa to the west, and Jarmaq, Mahmoudiyeh, Aaichiyeh, Aaramta, and Sejoud to the east.

What reinforces the assessment that Ali al-Taher is the current objective, beyond the advance itself, are evacuation warnings issued for surrounding towns in multiple directions.

These include villages to the west and northwest, such as Deir el-Zahrani, Nmairiyeh, Doueir, Harouf, Habbouch, Kfarjoz, Zebdin, Nabatieh al-Tahta, and Nabatieh al-Fawqa; to the east, Mahmoudiyeh and Jarmaq; and to the north and northeast, Sejoud, Rihan, Aaramta, Kfar Houneh, Mlikh, al-Lwaiza, Jarjouaa, and Arab Salim.

The Israeli army appears to be attempting to evacuate these villages and disrupt Hezbollah activity within them. It has already begun shelling Kfar Houneh, Rihan, Sejoud, and Mahmoudiyeh as part of preparatory fire typically preceding a ground advance.

The strategic importance of Ali al-Taher lies in its direct oversight of Nabatieh and its surroundings. If Israel were to take control of the hill, it would be able to impose artillery and armored fire control over Nabatieh and nearby villages.

Hezbollah has not been heavily engaged on Ali al-Taher itself, possibly preparing instead for confrontation in the broader Nabatieh area. The terrain of the hill, lacking forests, valleys, or dense structures, makes defensive or positional warfare more difficult.

Ali al-Taher’s importance is not only geographic but also military, as it is believed to contain infrastructure and tunnel networks linked to Hezbollah. Gaining control of the area would therefore represent both a blow to the group’s military assets and a step closer to Nabatieh, a city considered a key stronghold in southern Lebanon.

For this reason, a potential battle for Nabatieh is expected to be particularly difficult, and any further advance could potentially prompt the group to carry out strikes inside Israel.