ISRAEL VOWS TO WRECK ‘HEZBOLLAH ATTACK TUNNELS’

▶ Diggers working to block border routes as Tel Aviv stresses operation is not a bid to escalate tensions

The Israeli military has begun digging to block border tunnels built by Hezbollah from neighbouring Lebanon.

The pre-dawn operation, called Northern Shield, is being carried out inside Israel near the town of Metula to “expose and thwart” the underground attack routes dug by the Iran-backed political party and militia.

Israel’s military said the tunnels were not operational but posed “an imminent threat” to civilians, and constituted “a flagrant and severe violation” of Israeli sovereignty.

The operation was launched after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in Brussels on Monday.

Mr Netanyahu said they would discuss “how we can together curb Iran’s aggression in the region, in Syria, in Iraq, in Lebanon and elsewhere”.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry yesterday told all ambassadors to convey the message that the Israeli activity on the northern border was defensive, carried out within its territory and not a bid to escalate problems.

“The construction of attack tunnels is an act of aggression and a violation of UN resolution 1701 by the Iranian proxy in Lebanon,” said the foreign ministry’s spokesman, Emmanuel Nahshon.

The UN Security Council resolution ended the 34-day war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 and named the Lebanese military and UN peacekeeping forces as the only legitimate armed parties to operate between the Litani River and the UN-demarcated Blue Line.

In a tweet, the Israeli army confirmed they had found and were destroying a tunnel in the southern village of Kfar Kila.

“Tunnel crossing into Israel, but did not pose an immediate threat to local residents, officials tweeted.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon sent units to the border to monitor the movements of the Israeli forces, the Voice of Lebanon radio station said.

“The situation in Unifil’s area of operation remains calm,” force spokeswoman Malene Jensen told The National.

The peacekeepers have manned outposts and regular patrols that work along the Blue Line to monitor the situation.

The Lebanese army said it was sent to the area and stood ready to face any threat.

It was reported that the Israeli military feared the force might perceive the operation to clear tunnels as an act of aggression that required action.

South Lebanon has experienced the longest period of calm since before the country’s 15-year civil war, with 12 years of stability. But the US and Israel regularly accuse Hezbollah of breaching the UN resolution and of preparing for future conflicts.

Israel breaches the agreement on a near daily basis with thousands of military flights a year over Lebanon, and ground and sea units crossing the Lebanese border.

The country also continues to occupy the Shebaa Farms area and Northern Ghajar town despite repeated UN resolutions calling for them to be handed back to Lebanon.

Between July and October this year, the UN mission recorded 550 Israeli air breaches.

In 2014 alarmed Israeli residents from a small border town set out in search of what they thought were underground passages being dug beneath their homes.

Civilians in Zarit said they had told the Israeli military that they had heard drilling under the ground and suspected it was Hezbollah at work.

Israeli military officials played down the existence of the tunnels and refused to investigate further after sending technical experts to do an initial search.

But the Israeli army said it has long-warned that the neighbouring militia had plans for cross-border raids and has been trying to find the tunnels for more than four years.

Israel has also been building a large concrete border wall along its side of the Blue Line, which it says say will help to prevent Hezbollah raids such as the operation that killed three Israeli soldiers and led to the 2006 war.

A core message in many speeches by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is the idea of his force’s ability to reciprocate against any attack.

Mr Nasrallah has warned Israel that if it hits the Rafiq Hariri International Airport, Hezbollah will hit Ben-Gurion Airport. If Israel strikes Beirut, Hezbollah will hit Tel Aviv.

Apart from its tunnels, Hezbollah is also believed to have more than 100,000 rockets. Since 2006, it has acquired what analysts warn could be a huge leap in experience and equipment after its intervention in the Syrian conflict early in the war.

On the Syrian battlefields, Hezbollah has proved one of the most capable forces.

Israel’s vulnerability to tunnels was laid bare during its war with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in 2014.

Mr Netanyahu has recently hinted at an Israeli offensive.

“I will not say when we will act and how,” he said. “I have a clear plan. I know what to do and when to do it. And we will do it.”

The Israeli leader said a coming security challenge would require Israelis to “endure sacrifice”.