Israel launches military operation against ‘Hezbollah tunnels’

Israel has launched what it calls “an operation to expose and neutralise” tunnels between Lebanon and Israel allegedly dug by armed group Hezbollah.

The operation was announced by the Israeli military on Twitter on Tuesday. 

Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus told Reuters news agency that the operation would only take place on Israel’s side of the border and that it would not extend into Lebanon.

“We see the Hezbollah activities as a flagrant and blatant violation of Israeli authority,” he told Reuters.

In a tweet, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the Lebanese government is responsible for the build-up of the tunnels, saying they are endangering Lebanese citizens.

Hezbollah has not responded to the military operation yet.

In 2006, Hezbollah and Israel fought out a war in the border region in which more than 1,100 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 159 Israelis, were killed.

During that war, the armed Shia group was able to overwhelm Israel’s ground invasion of southern Lebanon and strike military and civilian targets, undermining internal Israeli support for the war and spurring regional support for Hezbollah’s military successes against a state army. 

Since then, Hezbollah has become one of the main supporting actors in the war in Syria and tensions with Israel have remained high.

Over the course of that war, Israel has targeted alleged Syrian and Hezbollah arms convoys on multiple occasions in an attempt to block any Iranian efforts to transfer weapons to the group.

Since the start of Syrian war, more than 200 strikes were carried out by Israel according to its military.

Israel has accused Iran of supporting Hezbollah with money and arms to continue fighting in Syria and retain its power in Lebanon.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies