Israel Reports Discovery and Destruction of Fifth Hezbollah Tunnel in Lebanon

On Wednesday, December 25, the Israeli army announced that it had discovered and destroyed the fifth tunnel dug by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. The Israeli army has been conducting Operation 'Northern Shield' since December 3 to uncover Hezbollah's 'offensive tunnels,' which is still ongoing. According to an Israeli army spokesperson, the entrance of the fifth tunnel was located in the Shiite village of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, close to the Israeli border, and the tunnel had been dug underground into Israeli territory. Israeli media reported that the army immediately destroyed the fifth tunnel after its discovery. Israeli soldiers used loudspeakers and other means to warn the Lebanese people across the border to stay away from the area, informing them of the imminent destruction of the tunnel. The Israeli army had previously laid mines around the earlier discovered tunnels as a precautionary measure to prevent infiltrations. The destruction of the discovered tunnels began last Wednesday, but according to the Associated Press, it is still unclear whether all of them have been destroyed. The Israeli army emphasized that its forces are capable of operating simultaneously in multiple locations. Although the army does not enter Lebanese territory to destroy the tunnels, the method of destruction prevents the use of the tunnel entrances from the Lebanese side as well. The spokesperson stated that they informed UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping forces, about the discovery of the fifth tunnel; UNIFIL confirmed the existence of four previous tunnels, stating that two were close to the border and two others had crossed into Israeli territory. Israel insists that Hezbollah intended to use these tunnels in a new war against the country, to infiltrate its fighters into Israel and 'surprise' it, but now Israel has 'foiled' this organization's 'plot.' Israel has stated that it had been aware of the tunnel digging for months and had been preparing its forces to counter it. Alongside the tunnel discovery and destruction operations, thousands of soldiers have been deployed in northern Israel to respond to potential events; however, this operation has continued peacefully, aside from a brief border tension between the Israeli army and Lebanese soldiers. The Israeli Prime Minister warned Hezbollah that the country would respond 'very harshly' to any hostile actions from the organization, while also emphasizing that the Lebanese government would be held responsible for any movements by Hezbollah. Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also the Minister of Defense, described Operation 'Northern Shield' as successful during another visit to the southern Lebanon border on Tuesday, December 25, and then held a five-hour security cabinet meeting in the area. Hezbollah has remained silent about the tunnels during the three weeks of Operation 'Northern Shield,' but media aligned with Hezbollah released videos on Tuesday, December 25, showing Israeli engineering units dealing with the tunnels from Lebanese territory. Israel and the United Nations consider the digging of the tunnels to be in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. Last week, the Security Council addressed the issue of the tunnels at an emergency meeting requested by Israel and supported by the United States, although Israel's request to label Hezbollah as 'terrorist' was not put to a vote in that meeting.