The IDF said that it found the sixth and final cross-border terror tunnel that the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah built into Israeli territory, The Times of Israel reported Sunday.
“With the discovery of this terror tunnel, the effort to locate the passages dug by Hezbollah that crossed the border into Israeli territory has been completed. The neutralization of this passage will be completed in the coming days,” the IDF said.
Separately, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told reporters, ” According to our intelligence and our assessment of the situation there are no longer any cross-border attack tunnels from Lebanon into Israel.”
The army said that it was continually updating its assessment. It said that according to its surveillance, Hezbollah is still digging tunnel infrastructure underground, but that none of the new tunnels have crossed the border yet.
180ft deep underground
2,624ft dug under #Lebanon
Dozens of yards dug into Israel
This #Hezbollah attack tunnel was dug from the Lebanese village of Ramyeh into Israel & will be neutralized soon.We have now exposed all attack tunnels dug by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel. pic.twitter.com/AU0zNbmCCM
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 13, 2019
The sixth tunnel was reportedly 800 meters (2,600 feet) long and extended several meters into Israel. It was also the deepest found to date, at a depth of 55 meters (180 feet). According to the Times, this likely made it “the most valuable one to Hezbollah.”
The latest tunnel found was also assessed to be the most sophisticated, containing a rail system, electricity, and exit stairs.
The IDF informed UNIFIL, the United Nations force in charge of keeping the peace on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Previously, UNIFIL charged that the tunnels constituted violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 by Hezbollah.
At the beginning of December, Israel announced that it was launching Operation Northern Shield to seek and destroy the terror tunnels that Hezbollah had built, allowing terrorists to cross into Israel from Lebanon. Subsequently, Israel reported that it had discovered three more tunnels. In the middle of the month, the IDF announced that it had started destroying the tunnels on the Israeli side of the border.
The IDF believes that Hezbollah has built the tunnels to allow infiltrators to cross into Israel and attack the 22 communities near the border with Lebanon. Hezbollah has stated that it intends to attack the Galilee in its next war with Israel. It is suspected that Hezbollah terrorists plan to try and capture territory inside of Israel and claim victory.
[Photo: IDF / Twitter ]