Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday, September 4, 2026, that the capture of the Ali Tahar ridge completes a phase of securing Israel’s declared “security zone” in southern Lebanon and vowed that Israeli forces would not leave until Hezbollah is disarmed and threats to Galilee communities are removed. In a statement summarized by international wires, Katz said Hezbollah had used the highland to fire on Israeli targets and had built an extensive tunnel network housing command infrastructure there. The Israeli military, he said, would finish neutralizing those tunnels and hold the ridge to prevent the group from re-establishing itself. Katz added that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…