BEIRUT, Sept 3 - The Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, which is named after a Shi'ite Muslim scholar whose shrine sits at its summit, has become one of the most contested pieces of ground in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

The cluster of hills is not especially large. But what it overlooks in southern Lebanon — and what Hezbollah is suspected to have built beneath it — thrust it to the centre of the fight between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.

WHERE IS IT?

Located about 15 km (10 miles) from the Israeli border, the Ali al-Taher ridge has a commanding view of a broad sweep of southeastern Lebanon. Israel held it during a 22-year occupation of south Lebanon that ended in 2000.

After the current war erupted on March 2, Israeli troops pushed deep into southern Lebanon and seized key hilltops, including the historic Beaufort Castle on the route to Ali al-Taher.

In June, Israel's military described the ridge as one of its "primary operational focuses," and included it in a map of an expanded, self-declared buffer zone where its troops are operating.

The ridge has effectively become a dividing point between a swathe of Lebanese territory occupied by Israeli troops to the south, and towns to the north that Israel's air force has bombed heavily, including Nabatieh.

WHY IS IT STRATEGIC?

Hezbollah is believed to have built an underground command centre and weapons stores within the ridge itself, Lebanese security sources told Reuters in July. At 600 metres above sea level, it granted Hezbollah an advantage in launching short-range missiles and drones towards northern Israel, according to analysts.

Ali al-Taher also connects border areas in southern Lebanon to the hilly Iqlim al-Tuffah region further north, which has long served as a key logistical and operational base for Hezbollah, the Lebanese security sources said.

The Israeli air force has struck the ridge heavily in recent months.