IDF Reveals It Found Another Hezbollah Tunnel Crossing Into Israel, Asks UN to Help Destroy It

Dec

admin

The Israeli military said Thursday afternoon that it has discovered another tunnel dug by the terror organization Hezbollah and has asked the United Nations to help efforts to destroy it.

The commander of the Israeli army’s Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick, asked the commander of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col, on Thursday to assist in neutralizing an attack tunnel being dug from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

>> A Hezbollah blitzkrieg: Tunnels on Israel-Lebanon border reveal attack plan | Analysis ■ Netanyahu visits Lebanon border; ‘Iran’s entrenchment in Syria has been halted’

skip
– The village of Ramyeh, southern Lebanon

According to an Israeli army statement, Strick demanded UNIFIL reach the tunnel from the Lebanese side of the border, "and noted that whoever enters the underground perimeter endangers his life."

The tunnel, which is being dug from the village of Ramyeh in southern Lebanon, crossed into Israel, but does not pose an immediate threat to residents, the statement said.

UNIFIL force with Israeli soldiers near Metula, December 6, 2018Gil Eliyahu

Israeli army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, said on Thursday that Strick clarified to Del Col that the Israeli army looks harshly upon the tunnel’s digging.

Manelis said Del Col was given a map which shows several structures in Ramyeh "from which we know with certainty that tunnels are being dug towards Israel."

Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter

Email*

Please enter a valid email address

Please wait…

Thank you for signing up.

We’ve got more newsletters we think you’ll find interesting.

Click here

Oops. Something went wrong.

Please try again later.

Try again

Thank you,

The email address you have provided is already registered.

The Israeli army statement said that "the responsibility for the well-being of the residents of southern Lebanon living near the underground tunnels penetrating Israel lies with the Lebanese government."

An Israeli army force near the Lebanese border, December 5, 2018AFP

The Israeli military launched the operation, dubbed Northern Shield, on Monday night. Netanyahu said earlier Tuesday that there had already been "operational successes" in the operation. "Whoever tries to harm the State of Israel will pay a heavy price," Netanyahu said in a statement, adding that Israel "is operating decisively and responsibly on all fronts simultaneously. We will continue with further actions – public and clandestine – in order to safeguard the security of Israel."

>> Has the Israeli army become the latest prop in Netanyahu’s battle for survival? | Analysis ■ Attack tunnels from Lebanon: Israel robs Hezbollah of major offensive asset | Analysis

Over the past two months, Northern Command and Military Intelligence concluded with a high degree of certainty that they had identified the existence of several attack tunnels below the border fence into Israel.

At that point, preparations began for the large-scale engineering operation that began Tuesday morning. The General Staff held periodic discussions on the progress of the tunnel-locating venture, which was coordinated by the head of Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick.

The army said the rocky terrain near the Lebanese border actually made seismic locating technologies more effective than they were in the sandy terrain near the Gaza Strip. These technologies are based on identifying movements in the earth caused by digging. Thus to monitor the digging in this rocky terrain, the army used different methods than it has in the south.

Northern Command officers predicted that it will take several weeks to locate and destroy all of Hezbollah’s attack tunnels, or in the worst case a little longer. But this assessment is based on an optimistic intelligence assessment – that the army will be able to identity with a high degree of certainly the entire routes of these tunnels.