On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces announced the demolition of an underground Hezbollah base located in Southern Lebanon. The complex, filled with hundreds of weapons and numerous rocket silos, was targeted and destroyed, as reported by the military.
The IDF’s statement highlighted that the subterranean facility was built with technology and expertise sourced from the Iranian terror network.
The significant military operation took place in the Majdal Zoun area, which lies about five miles north of the Israeli border within a security zone under IDF control. This action followed communications from Jerusalem to the United States, as confirmed by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
In a combined statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz clarified, “Israel pre-briefed the United States, along with the American representative in Lebanon, about the plan to dismantle the infrastructure.”
Describing the scale of the tunnel, which extended over 200 meters (around 650 feet) in length and delved more than 25 meters (approximately 80 feet) deep, the officials pointed out it housed numerous weapons and multiple launch silos aimed at targeting the State of Israel and its population.
“IDF commanders and fighters will remain in the security zone in Southern Lebanon and will continue to destroy terrorist infrastructure, remove threats to northern communities and safeguard the security of Israel’s citizens,” the statement concluded.
Israel and Lebanon signed a US-brokered framework agreement on Friday aimed at removing Hezbollah from Southern Lebanon and dismantling “associated infrastructure” in the area.
Hezbollah renewed its rocket and drone attacks from Southern Lebanon on Israel on March 2, following the targeted killing in Tehran of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28.
In response, Jerusalem launched a broad aerial campaign against Hezbollah targets and expanded military operations in Lebanon aimed at preventing cross-border attacks on Israeli communities.
Following the resumption of hostilities, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun vowed to do “the impossible” to stop cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, and moved to outlaw the Iranian proxy.
Israeli and Lebanese officials subsequently held five rounds of direct talks at the U.S. State Department in Washington, resulting in the framework of understandings that was reached on Friday and is conditioned on Hezbollah withdrawing from the south.
Katz said on Saturday that Jerusalem had instructed the IDF to prepare for a “prolonged stay” in the security zone in Southern Lebanon.
“The key principle established in the framework is that there will be no Israeli redeployment from Southern Lebanon, no withdrawal whatsoever, as long as the Hezbollah terrorist organization has not been disarmed throughout Lebanon, and the safety of northern residents is guaranteed,” he stated.