Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Israel’s enemies that they would face stronger retaliation if they launch further attacks, as he described the recent destruction of a Hezbollah tunnel network in southern Lebanon as a major victory.
Netanyahu said Israel’s demolition of Hezbollah positions around the Beaufort and Ali al-Taher ridges demonstrated the country’s military strength and vowed to continue targeting what he described as terrorist infrastructure.
“I say to our enemies: If you haven’t learned the lesson by now, and you choose to attack us again, you will suffer even heavier blows. There is still work to complete,” Netanyahu said, according to a video released by his office.
On Thursday, Israeli forces destroyed what Israel described as an extensive tunnel network beneath the Ali al-Taher ridge. The site was reportedly used by Hezbollah as a command centre and contained living quarters and weapons stockpiles intended for attacks against northern Israel and Israeli troops.
A massive explosion was recorded in the area, with the US Geological Survey registering a tremor equivalent to a magnitude 4.1 earthquake.
The blast occurred a week after Israeli troops said they had taken control of the strategic highlands as part of efforts to consolidate their hold over a “security zone” in southern Lebanon.
Israel said the tunnel system had been constructed over a period of two decades with assistance from Iran, Hezbollah’s main backer. Iran’s clerical government has also supported Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel and the United States attacked Iran in late February, triggering the wider Middle East war.
Hezbollah subsequently drew Lebanon further into the conflict by launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Iran.
Israel has continued carrying out strikes in southern Lebanon during the war, while its forces remain in areas it describes as a “security zone”.
The Ali al-Taher ridge sits on the edge of the Israeli security zone, only a few kilometres from the UNESCO-listed Beaufort castle, another strategic location captured by Israeli forces in recent months.
In late June, Israel and Lebanon signed a US-sponsored framework agreement covering the disarmament of Hezbollah, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the area.
The agreement is expected to begin with trial areas known as “pilot zones”.
Source: AFP
