Israel Targets Hezbollah Tunnels

The IDF launched Operation Northern Shield on Tuesday morning to expose and neutralize terror tunnels Hezbollah has constructed along the Israel-Lebanon border since 2006.

At present, work to expose the tunnels was taking place in Israeli territory, but IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis noted that “Neutralizing the tunnels will not necessarily be done in our territory.”

One tunnel has already been found, stretching from a residential structure in the south of Kafr Kela in Lebanon and reaching 40 meters (130 feet) into Israeli territory. The IDF said it took Hezbollah two years to dig the 200-meters-long (656 feet) tunnel in the rocky terrain, adding there are longer tunnels.

The tunnel is about two meters tall and two meters wide (6 feet 7 inches) and includes ventilation systems, electricity and piping. It was dug 25 meters (82 feet) under ground.

Unlike the tunnels Hamas is digging in Gaza, Hezbollah’s tunnel does not require concrete walls as it is supported by the rocky terrain it was dug through.

IDF officials estimated the operation would last a few weeks, but noted that it depended on how Hezbollah would choose to respond. Israel will also demand to implement its defensive measures in areas along the border that are under dispute, which could lead to protest from the Lebanese government.

“The digging of the cross-border attack tunnels that the IDF has discovered, before the attack tunnels became operational and posed an imminent threat to the safety of Israeli civilians, constitutes a flagrant and severe violation of Israeli sovereignty,” the IDF said.

“In addition, they serve as additional proof of the terror organization Hezbollah’s disregard of UN resolutions – first and foremost UNSCR 1701. These Hezbollah activities are conducted from the villages of southern Lebanon while harming Lebanon and jeopardizing its civilians in order to establish its terror infrastructure.”