Israel Destroys Fifth Hezbollah Tunnel Under Lebanon Border; Netanyahu Says Operation Northern Shield ‘Mostly Behind Us’

By Benjamin Kerstein

The IDF announced on Wednesday it had detected and destroyed a fifth tunnel dug by Hezbollah under the Israel-Lebanon border.

According to the Israeli military, the tunnel was uncovered several days ago.

“This is another blatant violation of UN Resolution 1701 and of Israeli sovereignty,” the IDF said in a statement, referring to the Security Council decision that brought the Second Lebanon War in 2006 to an end.

We have just destroyed another Hezbollah attack tunnel that was dug from Lebanon into Israeli territory. This is definitely one of the #ThingsImNotApologizingFor pic.twitter.com/us7qNKOIDg

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 26, 2018

The entrance to the tunnel on the Lebanese side was located in the village of Ayta ash-Shab, across the border from the Israeli moshav of Shtula.

WATCH: IDF officer calls out in Arabic to the residents of the Lebanese Shiite village of Ayta ash-Shab, warning them to clear the area prior to the demolition of an attack tunnel dug by Hezbollah from underneath their village into Israeli territory. pic.twitter.com/s08zkXnXQc

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 26, 2018

The neutralization of the tunnel was part of the IDF’s ongoing Operation Northern Shield, which was launched earlier this month.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the border with Lebanon with members of his security cabinet and top IDF officials, including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot.

“This operation is mostly behind us,” Netanyahu said. “There has been exceptional work here to deny Hezbollah the tunnels weapon. It has invested greatly in this and we have destroyed it.”

Last week, the Jewish state’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, warned that if Hezbollah had the ‘”arrogance to attack Israel, we will bury it in the rubble of Lebanon.”

(c) The Algemeiner Journal

{Matzav.com}