Israeli forces The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it had found and destroyed an underground tunnel more than 300 feet long, used by Hezbollah's Radwan forces as a hideout for terrorists.
The Israeli army said that it discovered the tunnel during its operations in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army launched a series of strikes with the aim of preventing weapons from reaching the hands of Hezbollah, which has been attacking Israel for more than a year before a ceasefire was agreed upon last month.
The Israeli army said in a statement: “With the help of the Yahalom unit, which investigated and cleared the tunnel route of explosives and threats, the forces found rifles, machine guns, anti-tank missiles, and surveillance systems inside the tunnel.”
The Israeli army said that all weapons were confiscated and destroyed, including the tunnel itself.
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An Israeli soldier was photographed near anti-tank missiles belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon. (IDF)
The Israeli army added, “A stockpile of anti-tank missiles and heavy machine gun positions targeting Israeli army positions were also found near the tunnel.”
The Israeli army said that the underground tunnel route is connected to Hezbollah command center It contained missiles used to fire at Israel during the war, “along with a large number of explosives.”
The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday called on Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon, claiming that Israel violated the terms of a ceasefire agreement signed on November 27 with Iran-backed Hezbollah, Reuters reported.
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a 60-day, US-brokered ceasefire calling for a gradual Israeli military withdrawal after more than a year of war, in line with the 2006 UN Security Council resolution that ended their last major conflict.
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Israeli army forces found a weapons cache that the Israeli army said belonged to the Hezbollah organization in southern Lebanon. (IDF)
Under the agreement, Hezbollah fighters must leave their positions in southern Lebanon and move north of the Litani River, which runs about 20 miles north of the border with Israel, along with a complete Israeli withdrawal from the south.
UNIFIL statement He drew attention to what he described as the ongoing destruction by Israeli forces of residential areas, agricultural lands and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
“UNIFIL continues to call for the timely withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces (instead of Hezbollah) in southern Lebanon, along with the full implementation of Resolution 1701 as a comprehensive path towards peace,” the statement said.
The Israeli military told Reuters it was looking into UNIFIL's criticism but provided no further comment.
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The Israeli army said that it destroyed weapons that were located in an underground tunnel in southern Lebanon. (IDF)
Under the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon, but neither side can launch offensive operations.
The Lebanese army told Reuters that it is following up with UNIFIL forces and the committee supervising the ceasefire agreement regarding the continuation of Israeli operations in southern Lebanon.
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UNIFIL said it would continue to monitor the area south of the Litani River to ensure it remains free of armed individuals and weapons, except for those belonging to the Lebanese government and UNIFIL.
Reuters contributed to this report.
