IDF forces raid Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
"Since the beginning of the war, the IDF has conducted dozens of targeted operations in areas near the border in southern Lebanon in order to dismantle Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure that pose a threat to Israeli civilian communities in northern Israel," The IDF said on Tuesday.
The announcement was made a day after IDF troops began a land offensive, described as limited in scope, into Lebanon.
Some of the operations were carried out up to 10 kilometers north of the border and according to military plans, 15 years in the making.
6 View gallery
Troops locate underground Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon raids
(Photo: Yoav Zitun)
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's plan was for Radwan units numbering 4,000 to 6,000 men, disguised as civilians, to enter the area where equipment had been placed awaiting them to invade border area communities and abduct soldiers.
6 View gallery
A shaft leading into underground Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon
(Photo: Yoav Zitun)
They were divided into groups, each numbering hundreds in battalions responsible for specific locations along the 135-kilometer (84 miles) border from the shore to the foothills of the Golan Heights.
An underground Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon
The military said that based on precise intelligence, troops conducted targeted operations against Hezbollah compounds to dismantle the military capabilities of the terror group's Radwan force and prevent them from invading Israel as Hamas did on October 7.
6 View gallery
Hezbollah launchers, rockets, equipment uncovered in southern Lebanon
(Photo: Yoav Zitun)
"The soldiers identified and breached underground access points near the border area, exposed extensive weapon caches, assembly areas for terrorist operative operations, and more.
6 View gallery
An underground Hezbollah tunnel near the border with Israel
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
During these operations, the troops also collected valuable intelligence and methodically dismantled the weapons and compounds, including underground infrastructure and advanced weaponry of Iranian origin," the statement went on to say.
Weapons found by troops in southern Lebanon
"The troops also uncovered and destroyed underground infrastructure, struck thousands of targets and hundreds of weapons storage facilities, tons of explosives, and hundreds of living areas for operatives, command centers and more. Some of the weapons were recovered and taken by the soldiers back into Israeli territory."
The IDF believes a few hundred Radwan troops remain active in the area and some 1,000 are further north near the Litani River and the coast. Most Radwan fighters fled north of the Litani, the military said.
IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that there are many villages in the border region of South Lebanon that have terror infrastructure in them and that the military's offensive was ongoing although he could not say how long it would last.