by Lilach Shoval, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Sixth and final Hezbollah attack tunnel is one of the largest and most sophisticated the IDF has found
IDF troops search on the northern border search for
Hezbollah tunnels
Screenshot: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
The IDF on Sunday said Operation Northern
Shield along the Lebanese border is complete following the discovery on a
sixth and last Hezbollah attack tunnel. IDF officials said the tunnel
was one of the largest uncovered thus far.
"Yesterday [Saturday] afternoon another
attack tunnel from Lebanese territory into Israel was found," said IDF
Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis.
"The tunnel was dug from the village of Ramyah. The Northern Command, the 91st
Division and Yahalom [the Engineering Corps' commando unit] have worked
since Dec. 4 and have essentially taken care of the tunnels. From an
initial examination … we consider it one of the main tunnels we have
uncovered. It is very long, 800 meters (2,625 feet) inside Lebanese
territory and dozens of meters inside Israeli territory. Its depth is 55
meters (180 feet) beneath the surface. It is two meters (6.5 feet) high
and one meter (3.2 feet) wide."
Manelis also divulged some of what was
found inside the tunnel, including "tracks to transport waste, equipment
across the entire length of the tunnel, electricity and lighting,
stairs leading up into our territory … In this tunnel, the stairs were
carved into the rock. A great deal of time and resources appear to have
been invested in the tunnel, [which was] not fully operational but was
in its advanced stages."
Manelis said Israel had notified UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, of the latest tunnel discovery.
"In the next few days we will finish our
examination of the tunnel and will transition to the stage of
neutralizing it. It no longer represents a threat. Anyone who enters
[the tunnel] from the other side will be putting his life in danger. The
tunnel's exposure completes the discovery of all the tunnels Hezbollah
has dug from Lebanese territory into Israel.
Manelis said that once the sixth tunnel was neutralized, Operation Northern Shield would be complete.
At the same time, he added, "We are
monitoring several locations in Lebanon where Hezbollah is digging
tunnels that haven't crossed into Israel yet. We are continuing to
implement a series of defensive measures – the [border] barrier
according to a pre-approved plan; an ongoing technological-intelligence
effort; and keeping troops from the Engineering Corps and 91st Division in place on a permanent basis to track and safeguard underground activity.
"Although this stage of the operation is
over, we are remaining in the north at full capacity. We are determined
to protect the residents of the north and track Hezbollah's underground
activities. Residents of the Galilee – who have worked with us over the
past month – contributed to the operation's success.
"Lebanon is responsible for everything that
happens in Lebanon. We are warning anyone who enters these tunnels,
lives where they are being dug or in their vicinity," Manelis said.
This weekend, Lebanese Ambassador to the
U.N. Amal Mudallali wrote to the U.N. Security Council and asked that it
take action against Israel's barrier project on the Lebanese border.
Mudallali alleged that by constructing the
barrier, Israel was "violating Lebanon's sovereignty" and argued that
the project violated U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, passed
following the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon
said in response to the Lebanese claims that "Rather than filing
baseless complaints, it's time for the Lebanese government to roll up
its sleeves and start addressing the violations by Hezbollah, which
could come at a heavy cost which the residents of South Lebanon will
have to pay.
"Israel will continue to carry out defense work within its borders to eradicate any threat to its citizens," Danon said.
Lilach Shoval, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2019/01/13/idf-uncovers-sixth-tunnel-completes-operation-on-northern-border/
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