Israel unearths Hezbollah’s web of tunnels in southern Lebanon

[Pelican Press 0]

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******* unearths Hezbollah’s web of tunnels in southern Lebanon

TEL AVIV, ******* (AP) — ******** forces have spent much of the past year destroying ******’

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in Gaza. They are now focused on dismantling tunnels and other hideouts belonging to Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.

Scarred by

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into ******* last year that sparked

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, ******* says it aims to prevent a similar incursion across its northern border from ever getting off the ground.

The ******** military has

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of southern Lebanon for the past two weeks, uncovering what it says are Hezbollah’s deep ******* capabilities — highlighted by a tunnel system equipped with weapons caches and rocket launchers that ******* says pose a direct threat to nearby communities.

*******’s war against the Iran-backed militant group stretches far inside Lebanon, and its airstrikes in recent weeks have ******* more than 1,700 people, about a quarter of whom were women and children, according to local health authorities. But

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has centered on a narrow patch of land just along the border, where Hezbollah has had a longstanding presence.

Hezbollah has deep ties to southern Lebanon

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, which has called for *******’s destruction, is the ***** world’s most significant paramilitary force. It began ******* rockets into ******* a day after ******’ *******. After nearly a year of ****-for-tat fighting with Hezbollah, ******* launched its ground invasion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1 and has since sent thousands of troops into the rugged terrain.

Even as it continues to bolster its forces, ******* says its invasion consists of “limited, localized and targeted ground raids” that are meant to ******** Hezbollah infrastructure so that tens of thousands of displaced Israelis can return home. The fighting also has uprooted more than 1 million Lebanese in the past month.

Many residents of southern Lebanon are supporters of the group and benefit from its social outreach. Though most fled the area months ago, they widely see the heavily armed Hezbollah as their defender, especially as the

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does not have suitable weapons to protect them from any ******** incursion.

That broad support has allowed Hezbollah to establish “a military infrastructure for itself” within the villages, said Eva J. Koulouriotis, a political analyst specialized in the Middle East and Islamic militant groups. The ******** military says it has found weapons within homes and buildings in the villages.

Hezbollah built a network of tunnels in multiple areas of Lebanon

With *******’s air power far outstripping Hezbollah’s defenses, the militant group has turned to underground tunnels as a way to elude ******** drones and jets. Experts say Hezbollah’s tunnels are not limited to the south.

“It’s a land of tunnels,” said Tal Beeri, who studies Hezbollah as director of research at The Alma Research and Education Center, a think tank with a focus on northern *******’s security.

Koulouriotis said tunnels stretch under the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah’s command and control are located and where it keeps a stockpile of strategic missiles. She said the group also maintains tunnels along the border with Syria, which it uses to smuggle weapons and other supplies from Iran into Lebanon.

Southern Lebanon is where Hezbollah maintains tunnels to store missiles — and from where it can launch them, Koulouriotis said. Some of the more than 50 Israelis ******* by Hezbollah over the past year were hit by anti-tank missiles.

In contrast to the tunnels dug out by ****** in the sandy coastal terrain of Gaza, Hezbollah’s tunnels in southern Lebanon were carved into solid rock, a feat that likely required time, money, machinery and expertise.

An ******** military official said that using prior intelligence, ******* had found “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of underground positions, many of which could hold about ten fighters and were stocked with rations. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military rules, said troops were blowing up the tunnels found or using cement to make them unusable.

The group used tunnels during the monthlong 2006 *******-Hezbollah war, but the network has been expanded since, even as a ******* Nations cease-***** resolution compelled Lebanese and U.N. forces to keep Hezbollah fighters out of the 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 drive through. Hezbollah operatives were also seen riding motorcycles inside the illuminated tunnel, named Imad-4 after the group’s late military commander, Imad Mughniyeh, who was ******* in Syria in 2008 in an ********** blamed on *******.

Hezbollah’s tunnels could be hindering *******’s mission

******** troops are pushing through southern Lebanon using 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 found one cross-border tunnel that stretched just a few meters into ******* but did not have an opening. ******* also exposed a tunnel shaft that was located about 100 meters (yards) from a

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’ post, although it wasn’t clear what the precise purpose of that tunnel was.

******* says the tunnels are stocked with supplies and weapons and are outfitted with lighting, ventilation and sometimes plumbing, indicating they could be used for long stays. It says it has arrested several Hezbollah fighters hiding inside, including three on Tuesday who were said to have been found armed. The ******** military official said many Hezbollah fighters appear to have withdrawn from the area.

Lebanese military expert, Naji Malaeb, a retired brigadier general, said he assessed that Hezbollah’s tunnels were preventing ******* from making major gains. He compared that achievement to the war in Gaza, where ****** has used its tunnels to bedevil ******** forces and stage insurgency-like attacks.

******** authorities insist the mission in Lebanon is succeeding. It says it has ******* hundreds of Hezbollah fighters since the ground operation in Lebanon began, though at least 15 ******** soldiers have been ******* during that time.

******* has encountered Hezbollah’s tunnels before. In 2018,

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to ******** what is said were ******* tunnels that crossed into ******** territory. Beeri said that six tunnels were discovered, including one that was 1 kilometer (1,000 yards) long and 80 meters (87 yards) deep, crossing some 50 meters (yards) into *******.

******* believes Hezbollah was planning an Oct. 7-style invasion

For *******, the tunnels are evidence that Hezbollah planned what ******* says would be a ******* offensive against communities in the north.

“Hezbollah has openly declared that it plans to carry out its own Oct. 7 massacre on *******’s northern border, on an even larger scale,” ******** military spokesman Rear. Adm. Daniel Hagari said the day troops entered Lebanon.

******* has not released evidence that any such ******* was imminent but has expressed concern that one might be launched once residents return.

Former Hezbollah leader

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, who was ******* by ******* last month while in an underground bunker, had signaled in speeches that Hezbollah could launch an ******* on northern *******.

In May 2023, just months before ******’ *******, Hezbollah staged a simulation of an incursion into northern ******* with rifle-toting militants on motorcycles bursting through a mock border fence bedecked with ******** flags.

Hezbollah officials have at times framed calls for an ******* against ******* as a defensive measure that would be taken in times of war.

___

Mroue reported from Beirut.

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#******* #unearths #Hezbollahs #web #tunnels #southern #Lebanon

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