A Hezbollah underground tunnel in southern Lebanon [AFP]
A Hezbollah underground tunnel in southern Lebanon [AFP]

Israel said Thursday that it had destroyed several tunnels used by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, as tensions between the two countries flared again following a truce reached late last month.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement that night announcing that Israeli forces had carried out a tunnel-destruction operation around the Beaufort fortress in the Arnoun area of southern Lebanon.

"Under orders from the prime minister and the defense minister, the Israel Defense Forces conducted an operation destroying multiple tunnels at Beaufort," the statement said, adding that the tunnels "played a central role in Hezbollah's plans to invade the Galilee region of northern Israel."

The statement said the operation used approximately 700 tons of explosives and was carried out in response to what it described as Hezbollah's flagrant violations of the truce agreement.

It went on to warn that "Israeli forces will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon and will continue to destroy terrorist infrastructure to prevent any attempt by Hezbollah to rebuild its capabilities."

Israel and Lebanon entered a truce brokered by the United States late last month, but tensions escalated again after Israel claimed Wednesday that it had come under attack by a Hezbollah suicide drone.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com