The IDF has dozens of Hezbollah operatives trapped in a significant underground tunnel network in southern Lebanon, with the trapped fighters signaling distress to their command, according to an Israeli military source. The IDF says it cannot withdraw from the area, which it is authorized to operate in under existing understandings. The assessment links the recent uptick in Hezbollah rocket fire to efforts to relieve the trapped operatives.
Tonight's report from Channel 14's Noam Amir, citing an Israeli military source, adds that the Hezbollah operatives trapped in the underground tunnel network in southern Lebanon are now signaling distress to their command. The assessment links the recent uptick in Hezbollah rocket fire — which The Zioneer reported earlier today (15:13) as a barrage of over 50 rockets and mortars at IDF troops — to an attempt to relieve the trapped fighters.
This development follows a series of IDF statements and security-source reports that have been building since early evening (all 19:28 Jerusalem). The first reports, citing Ynet and a senior IDF officer, described dozens of Hezbollah operatives trapped in the Iranian-built Ali Taher underground nerve center. Subsequent thread versions identified the operatives as belonging to Hezbollah's Badr Unit, specified the location as the Tibnit area, and noted the IDF had received a political-level directive to hold fire in parts of the zone while operations to destroy infrastructure continued. The desk's own confirmation from an IDF statement at 19:28 Jerusalem confirmed the underground site is over a kilometer long.
As The Zioneer reported earlier tonight (20:04), the IDF has described the tunnel network as one of Hezbollah's major infrastructure hubs in southern Lebanon, with fighting above and below ground, and the objective of removing a long-term threat to northern Israeli communities.
The report remains attributed to a single military source cited by one newsroom, and has not been independently corroborated or confirmed in an on-record official statement. The claim of Iranian pressure on the US to compel an Israeli withdrawal from the zone also remains unverified.
8 developments
- ConfirmedSenior Israeli official warns: If Hezbollah attacks again, Israel will strike with full force
- ConfirmedIDF reportedly ordered to halt strikes in Iran, continue operations in southern Lebanon
- DevelopingHezbollah says it rejects ceasefire, refuses to end hostilities with Israel
- StrongIDF spokesman: Hezbollah violated the ceasefire
Source and signal
- Internal intake