The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday that it had uncovered a third cross-border attack tunnel dug by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel, just over a week after it launched Operation Northern Shield to destroy the tunnels.
IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said that the tunnel has been “booby-trapped by the IDF, and anyone entering it from the Lebanese side puts his life at risk”.
Manelis added: “The Lebanese government is responsible for the digging of tunnels from Lebanese territory. This constitutes an egregious violation of Resolution 1701 and the State of Israel’s sovereignty”.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said: “We certainly took this issue seriously – the presence of tunnels at the border – and Israel informed us via the United States that it does not have aggressive intentions and it will continue to work on its (territory)”.
The IDF’s announcement followed Hezbollah’s release of dozens of close-up pictures and videos of IDF troops participating in operation northern field, including a map indicating where Israel’s military is currently operating.
A Lebanese news outlet said: “Hezbollah’s war media department launched an intensified campaign to show the weakness and fragility of the Israeli army, shooting the enemy soldiers from rear positions, which shows that the Resistance soldiers can infiltrate into their positions and capture them”.
On Saturday, three suspected Hezbollah fighters approached Israeli territory but fled after warning shots were fired. The IDF suspect they intended to interfere with sensor devices and disrupt its work destroying the tunnels.
Reports have suggested there may be as many as 10 tunnels built by Hezbollah.
The IDF say the tunnels are designed to allow Hezbollah to launch a surprise attack and infiltrate “entire battalions” into Israel. The military state that they launched the operation to destroy the tunnels, before they became fully operational and a threat to civilian communities.
The terror group’s deputy head threatened this weekend that its rockets can now hit the entire country “even Tel Aviv”.
On Monday the IDF released a 26 second audio clip of Hezbollah militants tunnelling. The IDF added that it was the recordings of seismic activity that enabled the IDF to locate the tunnel.
