The Israeli military destroyed an underground Hezbollah base at southern Lebanon's Ali al-Taher ridge, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday.The two officials confirmed that the mission completed the establishment of a security zone in the area.In a joint statement, they said that troops will stay in the area to stop the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militant organisation from restoring its capabilities or re-establishing its presence.The Ali al-Taher ridge, about 15 km (10 miles) from the Israeli border, ⁠has become one of the most ​contested ⁠areas of the war between Israel and Hezbollah. An explosion of what the Israeli prime minister's office said was a Hezbollah's underground infrastructure at the Ali al-Taher ridge. (Reuters)Hezbollah is believed to have built an underground command centre and weapons stores there, ⁠according to Lebanese security sources who spoke to Reuters in July.Lebanon's state news agency NNA said the Israeli military carried out a powerful blast at the ridge, with tremors and the sound of the explosion felt across Nabatieh and surrounding areas. The Israeli ‌military said its forces had established "operational control" ‌over the ridge, both above and below ground, before dismantling the infrastructure. The network extended for more than 2 km (1.24 miles) and contained dozens of rockets, missiles and drones, as ⁠well as anti-tank missiles, mines and explosive devices, it said.The aftermath of the explosion on Ali al-Taher ridge. (AP)The military said a central command complex belonging to Hezbollah's Badr unit was located within the underground infrastructure. The complex contained command centres, weapons storage rooms and living quarters that allowed fighters to remain underground for extended periods, it said. Israel has pushed into southern Lebanon and seized several strategic positions since the ‌conflict erupted on March 2. The ridge has been one of Israel's main operational focuses and lies within an expanded, self-declared Israeli buffer zone in southern Lebanon. A U.S.-brokered framework agreed after a June ceasefire called for Israeli ⁠forces to gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon while Lebanese troops disarm Hezbollah. The process has stalled, ‌however, with Hezbollah ​refusing to give up its weapons and ‌Israel saying it will not ​withdraw until the group disarms.