IDF says it destroyed 14 Hezbollah tunnels in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said it had completed an operation on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, during which its units took control of and destroyed underground infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah. As The Jerusalem Post reports, the military also released body-camera footage from a fighter of the Yahalom engineering unit, drone footage from inside the tunnels, and a recording of two militants being struck.
14 tunnel routes
According to the Israeli military, the underground network on the ridge consisted of 14 tunnel routes with a total length of about 5.4 kilometers. The military says Yahalom fighters used approximately 1,100 tonnes of explosives to destroy the system. The operation was given the code name “Flame Chisel.”
The Israeli side says the operation lasted several months and was one of the most complex in recent years. It involved the 36th Division, the Commando Brigade, the Yahalom engineering unit, as well as forces from the Golani Brigade and the 7th Brigade. The commander of the 36th Division, Brigadier General Yiftah Norkin, said that the military operated both on the surface and underground and faced collapses and other obstacles.
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Claims about fighting and losses
According to a senior Israeli military official, around 50 Hezbollah militants were in the tunnel system at the start of the operation. He said that most of them were killed in the tunnels or while attempting to escape. The official also reported at least ten militants who were struck and who, he said, were attempting to deliver supplies to the ridge or reinforce units in the underground system.
The Israeli military claims that the underground complex was an important command center for Hezbollah’s Badr unit. According to the military, before the ground operation began, Israeli forces crossed the Litani River and carried out disinformation measures to conceal the direction of their advance.
The IDF also said it does not intend to leave the area of the so-called Yellow Line after the tunnels were destroyed. The Israeli military plans to redeploy to positions from which it can control the territory and prevent Hezbollah from returning to the area.
