A reporter was able to accompany an Israeli army unit. A military spokesman explains how the Islamists wanted to try to overrun parts of Israel – just as Hamas did on October 7, 2023.
It is night in Lebanon. It is night in the third war between Israel and Lebanon, or rather, between Israel and Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets into Israel every day for more than a year.
In ‘solidarity’ with the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, which attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 200 hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Under cover of darkness, ’embedded’ in a unit of Israeli soldiers, we are on our way to the battle zone between Israel and Lebanon – with protective helmets and bulletproof vests. Explosions are heard again and again. The war is close.
The target is Hezbollah’s massive tunnel system, which was built under the Shiite village of Rab El Thalathine. From here it is less than 2.5 kilometers to the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona.
The tunnel system goes up to 40 meters underground
The Israeli Army (IDF), as the army is officially called, recently took over the Lebanese border town. And just a week ago they discovered the tunnel system, which is over a kilometer long and lies between twelve and forty meters deep underground.
There were skirmishes between the IDF and Hezbollah units, which were eventually eliminated. “It is the largest tunnel we have found so far,” said an IDF soldier.
Hezbollah built the tunnel “for one reason only,” an Israeli army spokesman added: “To invade Israel, kill, rape and inflict further violence on Israeli civilians.”
Ten shafts in this underground labyrinth “extend to civilian homes where ammunition, anti-tank weapons and AK-47 assault rifles were found,” the IDF spokesman said.
An Israeli soldier familiar with the spider web of Hamas tunnels in Gaza described the Hezbollah tunnel system as “more stable and advanced” than the so-called “Gaza Metro” – the nickname for Hamas’s underground city (estimated to be 500 kilometers long). which is more complex than the London Underground.
The “Hezbollah Metro” was equipped by the terrorists with Lebanese canned food, washing machines, bedrooms, showers, toilets, mattresses, Iranian weapons, fans and a workshop. The tunnel system can accommodate more than 500 fighter aircraft. The IDF explains that food supplies were sufficient for several weeks. Some of their members were captured just two miles from the tunnel.
However, hundreds of Shia civilians have fled the village. Rab El Thalathine and Kirjat Shmona on the Israeli side of the border have become ghost towns. The IDF spokesman reports: “We found long-range missiles here that could easily have been fired as far as the Galilee.” Hezbollah “came here disguised as civilians and received their uniforms, their weapons systems and their plans to infiltrate Israel.” Northern Israel should have been overrun.
Hezbollah secret plan: “Conquest of Galilee”
Hezbollah’s plan was an invasion on a scale even greater than that of the October 7 Hamas massacre. Hezbollah called this secret plan the ‘Conquest of Galilee’. This shows the extreme danger of the Shia militia, which Austria also classifies as a terrorist organization.
Israeli tanks are now stationed near the Lebanese village of Rab El Thalathine. An Israeli drone can be seen in the sky with bright green light, which is used to monitor the area.
The armed forces cannot say exactly how long the ground war will last. Brigadier General Guy Levy, the commander of the IDF’s 98th Paratrooper Division: “Our main goal here is to find and locate every terrorist location, destroy it and ensure that we can return our citizens to northern Israel to be part of it.” to be able to make out. a normal life. We will do what is necessary.”
More than 60,000 Israelis have fled northern Israel due to Hezbollah attacks. It is unclear how large Hezbollah’s underground weapons depot still is. The terrorist organization has also been firing rockets towards the city of Haifa for weeks.
Vienna-born Israeli Naftali Hirschl told the “Krone”: “We have to run into the bunker up to six times a day. Often preventatively, in case of suspicion, because my son is seriously disabled. Otherwise it will be impossible to get to the bunker with him on time.”
The UN observation mission UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, in which around 180 Austrian soldiers also participate, has been sharply criticized by Israel. The force was greatly expanded after the last Lebanon war, almost twenty years ago. The peacekeepers had to enforce the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which requires Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon and be disarmed by the regular Lebanese army. Israel blames UNIFIL for this never happening. On the contrary. Hezbollah managed to create its complex tunnel system in full view of UN forces and store up to 150,000 missiles there.
Kandice Ardiel, spokesperson for UNIFIL, told the Krone: “The implementation of Resolution 1701 is the responsibility of the parties. Peacekeepers support the parties in implementation, monitor and report violations. That is what we did and what we continue to do.”
The UN is investigating allegations of bribery
When asked about a media report by Israel Hayom that Hezbollah had bribed UNIFIL employees to hide behind their positions, Ardiel said: “I would treat anonymous stories with caution. However, we will investigate any allegation based on credible evidence.”
The sun rises slowly as we leave southern Lebanon, protected by Israeli soldiers. The night is over. The war continues.
Benjamin Weinthal accompanied the Israeli army to the combat zone in Lebanon.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
