Israel unearths Hezbollah’s web of tunnels in southern Lebanon

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli forces have spent much of the past year destroying Hamas’ vast underground network in Gaza. They are now focused on dismantling tunnels and other hideouts belonging to Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.

Scarred by Hamas’ deadly raid into Israel last year that sparked the war in Gaza, Israel says it aims to prevent a similar incursion across its northern border from ever getting off the ground.

The Israeli military has combed through the dense brush of southern Lebanon for the past two weeks, uncovering what it says are Hezbollah’s deep attack capabilities — highlighted by a tunnel system equipped with weapons caches and rocket launchers that Israel says pose a direct threat to nearby communities.

Israel’s war against the Iran-backed terrorist group stretches far inside Lebanon, and its airstrikes in recent weeks have killed more than 1,700 people, according to local health authorities. But its ground campaign has centered on a narrow patch of land just along the border, where Hezbollah has had a longstanding presence.

After nearly a year of tit-for-tat fighting with Hezbollah, Israel 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, Israel says its invasion consists of “limited, localized and targeted ground raids” that are meant to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure so that tens of thousands of displaced Israelis can return home.

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 Israel’s security.

Eva J. Koulouriotis, a political analyst specialized in the Middle East, said tunnels stretch under the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah’s command and control are located.

An Israeli military official said that, Israel had found “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of underground positions. 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.

Israel’s military on Saturday announced that troops had found and destroyed over 50 tunnel shafts in southern Lebanon.