The Israeli Defense Forces have concluded ‘Operation Northern Shield‘, sealing the last of a series of cross-border attack tunnels that were dug by the Lebanese Iranian-proxy Hezbollah under Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
The IDF approved the accesses of several journalists to the tunnel prior to its demolition – including TV7’s analyst Amir Oren – who described the tunnel as a complex engineered construct of some 80 meters deep, which is about the height of a 22-story building.
IDF Spokesperson Jonathan Conricus who led the tour of the tunnel noted that it was “the longest and deepest attack tunnel that Hezbollah dug,” with the clear purpose of having the “ability to surprise the IDF inside Israel.” According to the IDF Spokesperson: “We are standing inside a Hezbollah cross-border tunnel that was dug from the civilian village of Ramia, almost a kilometer away inside Lebanon, under the blue line leading into Israel at a maximum depth of 80 meters, which is like 22 stories of a building leading into Israel. Hezbollah dug this tunnel as well as other tunnels in order to have the ability to surprise Israeli civilians and the IDF Inside Israel and to attack Israel. After operation Northern Shield, Hezbollah no longer has the ability to conduct such attacks against Israel.”
Conricus further noted that the IDF has “now completed this operation” and that “it is safe to say that there are no more Hezbollah cross-border attack tunnels from Lebanon into Israel.”
Nevertheless, a senior Israeli source – who spoke to TV7 on condition of anonymity – asserted that “Hezbollah may have dug additional tunnels that have yet to be uncovered.” As such, “Israel’s security establishment continues to search for potential threats that emanate from its northern frontier, including Lebanon and Syria.”
While the United Nations dubbed the tunnels as “a breach of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701,” which brought about a long-lasting ceasefire following the devastating 2006 Lebanon war; it merely called upon Lebanese authorities to implement punitive measures against Hezbollah, yet failed to bring-about concrete measures to reprimand Iran’s proxy for its aggressive behavior towards Israel.