The IDF announced Wednesday that it had completed a large-scale demolition operation targeting southern Lebanon’s Matmoura, located close to Israel’s northern border near Kibbutz Adamit and the village of Arab al-Aramshe in the Western Galilee.
The operation was led by the 5067th Engineering Battalion, part of the 646th Brigade under the 146th Division, and marked the culmination of an intensive brigade-level exercise in the sector.
IDF demolishes southern Lebanese border town of Matmoura, used as a Hezbollah staging ground
According to an IDF soldier involved, the village functioned as a Hezbollah "terror hub," where caches of weapons and ammunition were found in nearly every building. “The entire village was a staging ground; we found weaponry and evidence of terror operations in almost every house,” he reported.
Footage released by the IDF shows 466th Battalion Commander Lt. Col. (res.) Nimrod Ziv addressing troops, saying, “After a year of war on the southern front, in the West Bank and now in Lebanon, we, the reservist paratroopers of the 646th Brigade’s 446th Battalion, destroy this Hezbollah staging ground. We will not allow the enemy to threaten our freedom in this country on our watch. We honor those who sacrificed everything, and we will continue to fight forever and defend our land.”
The IDF’s operations last week led to the discovery of underground bunkers designed for Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces, with long-term living supplies, military gear and ammunition.
Among the equipment seized were combat vests packed with grenades, full ammunition magazines, tactical helmets, winter gear, rocket launchers and advanced night vision systems. Several weapons reportedly bore markings linking them to sources in Moscow, Russia.
Lt. Col. Shushan, who previously led tours in the village, explained, “Even in our emergency depots, we don’t have the level of readiness we found here in this small Sunni village.”
He added that heavily fortified combat positions were constructed by Hezbollah mere feet from the border. “They had dug trenches and planted mines, intending to breach the wall along the border and infiltrate Israel in civilian clothing to strike quickly,” he said.
The IDF emphasized that this operation is part of a broader mission to neutralize Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities near the border, aiming to restore security and assure the safety of Israel’s northern residents.
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