The shaft of a Hezbollah tunnel located on Israel's northern border.
IDF forces neutralize a Hezbollah tunnel on the northern border (IDF spokesman, December 27, 2018).
Pictures documenting the flood of concrete pouring from the tunnel opening in Israel into the village of Kafr Kila. It is close to the concrete block plant from which the tunnel was dug into Israeli territory (IDF spokesman, December 27, 2018).
Pictures documenting the flood of concrete pouring from the tunnel opening in Israel into the village of Kafr Kila. It is close to the concrete block plant from which the tunnel was dug into Israeli territory (IDF spokesman, December 27, 2018).
IDF soldiers call on the residents of the Shi'ite village of Ayta al-Shab to evacuate the area before the Hezbollah attack tunnel is blown up.
The explosion destroying the fifth attack tunnel in the region of the Shi'ite village of Ayta al-Shab (east of the Israeli community of Zar'it) (IDF spokesman, December 26, 2018).
Overview
On December 26, 2018, the IDF blew up the fifth Hezbollah terrorist tunnel, which had been located a few days before in the region of the Shi’ite village of Ayta al-Shab (east of the Israeli community of Zar’it). Before the tunnel was destroyed the IDF called on the Lebanese villagers to evacuate the area (IDF spokesman, December 26, 2018). On December 27, 2018, the IDF spokesman reported the neutralization and destruction of attack tunnels that crossed the border from the region of the village of Kafr Kila in Lebanon into Israeli territory (the Metulla region). He reported that neutralizing the tunnels took a number of days and was carried out in a number of ways, from explosions to filling the tunnels with various materials such as water, bentonite[1] and concrete (IDF spokesman, December 27, 2018).
- According to the IDF spokesman, a stream of material introduced into the tunnel on the Israeli side of the border was identified exiting a civilian structure in Kafr Kila, where the shaft of one of the tunnels was located. A stream was also identified exiting the concrete block plant identified by the IDF as the site of another tunnel entrance. According to the IDF spokesman, “that fact indicates the use made by Hezbollah of civilian structures in the heart of the built-up area in south Lebanon, in serious violation of Resolution 1701, and the endangering of the civilian population by using them as human shields.” The IDF spokesman added that “the responsibility for digging the tunnels and the consequences rests on the Lebanese government” (IDF spokesman, December 27, 2018).
- According to a senior IDF officer, most of the tunnels in the north exposed so far were “five star tunnels,” of the kind Hamas could only dream about. They had ventilation ducts and electric connections, and some of them had telephones. Some of Hezbollah’s tunnels were dug to a depth of more than 49 yards (almost 3/10 of a mile). They were ten feet wide and almost eight feet high (IDF spokesman, December 27, 2018).
UNIFIL
- The UNIFIL Arabic website reported that as part of the investigation of the tunnels, UNIFIL and Lebanese army forces mapped the concrete block plant in the southern part of Kafr Kila (on December 26 and 27, 2018). That was done after a flood of concrete was seen streaming out of the plant. The concrete exited the Lebanese side after having been introduced by the IDF through the opening of a tunnel which UNIFIL had confirmed reached the Blue Line. Therefore, UNIFIL confirmed that the opening shaft of the tunnel was inside the concrete block plant (UNIFIL Arabic website, December 28, 2018).
Hezbollah
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the rest of the organization’s leadership continue maintaining media silence regarding the IDF’s success in locating and neutralizing the organization’s attack tunnels. However, in the absence of statements from the leadership, the media coverage is spearheaded by journalist Ali Shoeib, who reports from south Lebanon for Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV channel. He reports information interwoven with Hezbollah propaganda (for example, alleging Israel’s “fear and anxiety” over the tunnels while completely ignoring the Israel’s success in exposing and neutralizing them, or Hezbollah’s violation of Resolution 1701).
- Ali Shoeib lives in Nabatieh in south Lebanon. He reports for Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV and the Nur radio station from south Lebanon. Since the beginning of Operation Northern Shield he has reported on the activities of the IDF forces on Israel’s northern border, situating himself close to the border fence and the IDF forces. He actively uses his Twitter account to issue reports. On December 27, 2018, he reported that Israel’s “fear” of Lebanon and “hysteria” forced the IDF to use nine bulldozers to locate the tunnels in the Shtula region. He also has a “terror of the tunnels” hashtag.
- Ali Shoeib praises Hassan Nasrallah’s media silence. The actual source of his silence is Hezbollah’s embarrassment over the Israeli achievement and its unwillingness to expose itself to internal Lebanese and international criticism. However, Ali Shoeib has turned Nasrallah’s silence into a Hezbollah propaganda “tool,” claiming Israel fears the silence.
Ali Shoeib used his Twitter account to praise the silence of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He wrote, “When they are concerned about your silence…it gets on their nerves!! After that they scream in pain!! Because your silence is a weapon…that no one knows how it works, only those who suffer the pain” (Ali Shoeib’s Twitter account, December 29, 2018).
Examples of reports on the ground by Ali Shoeib
IDF forces continue filling the tunnels with concrete
(Metulla area) (Ali Shoeib’s Twitter account, December 26, 2018).
Cement mixers en route to the border fence opposite Kafr Kila
(Ali Shoeib’s Twitter account, December 25, 2018).
IDF forces continue activities on the Lebanese border in the region of the Israeli community of Shtula, near the village of Ayta al-Shab after blowing up the Hezbollah attack tunnel nearby (Ali Shoeib’s Twitter account, December 27, 2018).
[1] A substance that expands when mixed with water, sometimes used as a sealant. ↑
