A Lebanese newspaper published over the weekend a series of articles and pictures showing a complex system of Hezbollah’s highly sophisticated terror tunnels it has built along the border with Israel.
The pro-Hezbollah As-Safir newspaper said Hezbollah is ready to attack Israel at any moment not only with more than 100,000 missiles, as is known, but also with the use of tunnels that are complete with communications equipment, generators and surveillance equipment. Missiles also can be stored in bunkers and transported to a launching site.
Camouflaged tunnels surprised the IDF in the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and forced Israel into a stalemate after 34 days of fighting that killed more than 120 Israeli soldiers and inflicted heavy casualties and damage to northern Israel, including Haifa.
Israel has changed its strategy since the “war via tunnels,” which was duplicated by Hamas in Gaza, but Hezbollah’s entrenchment in villages turns tens of thousands of Lebanese into human shields. However, the As-Safir report did not state that any of Hezbollah’s tunnels actual cross into Israel territory.
The report in As Safir might be a propaganda move to boost the morale of the terrorist organization, which has suffered huge casualties while fighting alongside forces loyal to the Assad regime.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s statement this weekend that the Islamic State (ISIS) is just as much an enemy as Israel is a clear sign that Nasrallah is scared, but if he gets in itchy finger and tries to attack Israel, the IDF is not likely to lay back because of the fear of attacking civilians.
The As-Safir report includes a photo of villages where one-third of the buildings are marked as being used by Hezbollah.
A senior Israeli military official told The New York Times two weeks ago:
The civilians are living in a military compound. We will hit Hezbollah hard, while making every effort to limit civilian casualties as much as we can, [but] we do not intend to stand by helplessly in the face of rocket attacks.