Israel excavates network of tunnels used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

Israeli forces have spent much of the past year destroying Hamas. extensive underground network in Gaza. They are now focused on dismantling tunnels and other shelters belonging to Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.

Scars from Hamas’s deadly raid on Israel last year, which sparked war in GazaIsrael says it is committed to preventing such an incursion across its northern border.

Israeli troops have combed the dense bush of southern Lebanon over the past two weeks, discovering what they say are Hezbollah deep attack capabilities, as evidenced by a tunnel system equipped with weapons caches and rocket launchers that Israel says pose a direct threat to nearby communities. . .

Israel’s war against the Iranian-backed militant group extends far inside Lebanon, and its airstrikes have killed more than 1,700 people in recent weeks, about a quarter of them women and children, according to local health authorities. But his ground campaign focused on a narrow piece of land along the border where Hezbollah has long had a presence.

Hezbollah has deep ties to southern Lebanon

Hezbollah, which calls for the destruction of Israel, is the most significant paramilitary force in the Arab world. He began firing rockets at Israel the day after the Hamas attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. After nearly a year of fighting with Hezbollah, Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon on Oct. 1 and has since sent thousands of troops into the rugged terrain.

Even as it continues to build up its forces, Israel says its invasion consists of “limited, localized and targeted ground raids” aimed at destroying Hezbollah’s infrastructure so that tens of thousands of displaced Israelis can return home. The fighting has also displaced more than 1 million Lebanese over the past month.

Many residents of southern Lebanon support the group and benefit from its social activities. Although most of them fled the area months ago, they widely regard the heavily armed Hezbollah as their protector, especially since the US-backed Lebanese army does not have adequate weapons that could protect them from any Israeli incursion.

Such widespread support has allowed Hezbollah to build a “military infrastructure” inside villages, said Eva J. Koulouriotis, a political scientist specializing in the Middle East and Islamic militants. The Israeli military says it found weapons in houses and buildings in the villages.

Hezbollah has built a network of tunnels in many areas of Lebanon

With Israel’s air force vastly superior to Hezbollah’s defenses, the militant group has turned to underground tunnels as a way to evade Israeli drones and aircraft. Experts say Hezbollah’s tunnels are not limited to the south.

“This is a land of tunnels,” said Tal Beeri, who studies Hezbollah as director of research at the Alma Research and Education Center, a think tank specializing in the security of northern Israel.

Koulouriotis said the tunnels run underneath Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has command and control and where it stores stockpiles of strategic missiles. She said the group also maintains tunnels along the border with Syria, which it uses to smuggle weapons and other goods from Iran into Lebanon.

According to Koulouriotis, southern Lebanon is where Hezbollah has tunnels to store missiles and from where it can launch them. Some of the more than 50 Israelis killed by Hezbollah over the past year were hit by anti-tank missiles.

Unlike the tunnels dug by Hamas in the sandy coastal region of Gaza, Hezbollah’s tunnels in southern Lebanon were carved into solid rock, a feat that likely required time, money, equipment and expertise.

An Israeli military official said that using preliminary reconnaissance, Israel had discovered “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of underground positions, many of which could accommodate about ten fighters and were stocked with rations. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military rules, said troops were blasting the tunnels or using cement to render them unusable.

The group used the tunnels during the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, but the network has since expanded, even as a United Nations ceasefire resolution forced Lebanon and UN forces to keep Hezbollah fighters out south.

In mid-August, Hezbollah released a video showing what appeared to be a cavernous underground tunnel large enough for trucks loaded with missiles to pass through. Hezbollah fighters were also seen riding motorcycles inside the illuminated tunnel, named Imad 4 after the group’s late military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in Syria in 2008 in a bombing blamed on Israel.

Hezbollah tunnels could hinder Israel’s mission

Israeli troops are advancing through southern Lebanon with tanks and engineering equipment, and air and ground forces have struck thousands of targets in the area since the invasion began.

The military recently said it had found one cross-border tunnel that extended just a few meters into Israel but had no passage. Israel also discovered a tunnel shaft located approximately 100 meters (yards) from UN peacekeepers ‘, although it was unclear what the exact purpose of this tunnel was.

Israel says the tunnels are filled with supplies and weapons and equipped with lighting, ventilation and sometimes running water, indicating they can be used for long stays. It said it had arrested several Hezbollah fighters hiding inside, including three on Tuesday who were reportedly found armed. An Israeli military official said many Hezbollah fighters appeared to have left the area.

Lebanese military expert Naji Maleb, a retired brigadier general in the Lebanese army, said he believes Hezbollah’s tunnels are preventing Israel from making major gains. He compared the achievement to the Gaza war, where Hamas used its tunnels to confuse Israeli forces and stage insurgent-like attacks.

Israeli authorities say the mission in Lebanon is a success. They say Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters since the ground operation began in Lebanon, although at least 15 Israeli soldiers have been killed in that time.

Israel has already encountered Hezbollah tunnels. In 2018, Israel launched an operation to destroy what were said to be attack tunnels that crossed Israeli territory. Beeri said six tunnels had been discovered, including one 1 kilometer (1,000 yards) long and 80 meters (87 yards) deep, crossing about 50 meters (yards) into Israeli territory.

Israel believes Hezbollah was planning an invasion similar to October 7

For Israel, the tunnels are evidence that Hezbollah was planning what Israel said would be a bloody offensive against communities in the north.

“Hezbollah has openly stated that it plans to carry out a massacre on the northern border of Israel on an even larger scale on October 7,” said a spokesman for the Israeli Army Home Front. Admiral Daniel Hagary said troops entered Lebanon that day.

Israel has not released evidence that such an attack was imminent, but has expressed concern that it could be carried out after the residents return.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallahwho was killed by Israel last month in an underground bunker, has hinted in speeches that Hezbollah may launch an attack on northern Israel.

In May 2023, just months before the Hamas attack, Hezbollah staged a staged invasion of northern Israel, with rifle-wielding gunmen on motorcycles breaking through a mock border fence festooned with Israeli flags.

Hezbollah officials have at times framed calls for an attack on Israel as a defensive measure to be taken during the war.