Israel announces the destruction of two "Hezbollah tunnels" in southern Lebanon using more than a thousand tons of explosives
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The Israeli army announced the destruction of "Hezbollah's underground tunnel infrastructure" in southern Lebanon. The army stated that it used more than a thousand tons of explosives to blow up two tunnels at the Ali al-Tahir Heights, where Israeli forces reported finding Iranian-made missiles, anti-tank missiles, drones, and other ammunition.
“This is a strategic terrorist infrastructure that was built over two decades, with Iranian financing and planning,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said in a joint statement.
They stressed that the Israeli army "will thus complete the establishment of the security zone in southern Lebanon."
The length of the two tunnels was said to be two kilometers. The Israeli army explained that this operation completes its mission to destroy eight tunnels in total and establish a security zone at the site.
Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey reported that an earthquake measuring 4.1 degrees had been recorded in southern Lebanon, after the official National News Agency reported that the Israeli army carried out “a violent explosion on Ali Al-Taher Hill on the outskirts of Nabatieh Al-Fawqa, causing shocks and sounds that resonated loudly in Nabatieh and its area.”
Journalists at Agence France-Presse felt the repercussions of the bombings in Lebanon, while footage published by the Israeli Defense Minister showed a fireball rising into the sky.
An Agence France-Presse correspondent said that he felt concussions before a strong explosion sounded, while another reporter reported that the aftershocks of the explosions reached the southern city of Sidon, located about 40 kilometers from the capital.
Joelle Fares, who recently returned to Marjayoun, told AFP, "We were sitting and everything shook."
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The Israeli army stated that Hezbollah's infrastructure extends for more than two kilometers, and includes "dozens of Iranian-made missiles, missiles, and drones, in addition to machine guns, dozens of anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of mines and explosive devices."
The army added that the underground complex also included a command center for Hezbollah's "Badr" unit.
A military official told Agence France-Presse that some of the militants who were active in the highland area had left, and others "were eliminated by air strikes and artillery fire."
Last week, the Israeli army announced its control of this highland located north of the Litani River, on the outskirts of the occupied zone in southern Lebanon.
Israel accuses Hezbollah of digging tunnels in this area, which enabled it to launch drones and missiles at Israeli military sites in southern Lebanon, as well as at northern Israel.
The war in the Middle East extended to Lebanon as of March 2, after Tehran's ally Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel in response to the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the US-Israeli raids on Iran on February 28.
During the negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, the United States, the sponsor of the talks, proposed that the Lebanese army take control of the Ali al-Tahir Heights, but Hezbollah rejected this, according to a source close to the negotiators told Agence France-Presse.
