The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) capture of a Hezbollah base in an underground complex under the Ali Taher ridge will enable us to talk about the formation of a security zone in southern Lebanon, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said, The Times of Israel reports.

Katz said the operation “marks the completion of the phase of establishing control over the security zone in southern Lebanon,” commenting on the IDF's statements about the capture of the area.

Katz noted that the decision to take control of Ali Taher was made “following intelligence obtained about the presence of Hezbollah command-and-control tunnels there… serving as the last commanding outpost for defending the Nabatieh area.”

“Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are leading a clear and uncompromising policy, reinforced every day by the IDF: Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon and the threats to the residents of the Galilee are removed,” Katz said in a statement. “The capture of Ali Taher is an important step toward achieving this goal.”