Israel admitted Friday that the Northern Shield Operation to detect cross-border tunnels dug by “Hezbollah” was expanded to the Lebanese side of the boundary.
It said the expansion was aimed at figuring out the nature of the tunnels and how they were dug from several civilian houses.
A video was broadcast showing the Israeli army destroying all of the tunnels from Kfarkila into the northern Israeli border town of Metula. The tunnels were filled with cement, which spilled over along the border with Kfarkila, reaching several houses in the Lebanese village.
The Israeli army said that through this video, it wanted to show people, especially the Lebanese, that “Hezbollah” is jeopardizing the lives of citizens.
It said that after pouring cement into the tunnels from the Israeli side, the material reached homes in Lebanon, a clear sign that the digging operation and the opening of the passageways was made in houses.
Israel launched this operation at the beginning of December to destroy tunnels. So far five tunnels have been discovered.
Israeli military spokesman Ronen Manelis rejected to consider this step as aggressive.
“The Lebanese military and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon are still not doing anything to seal the tunnel shafts,” he said.
Manelis said that a material other than clay could have been used, but it wasn’t in order to avoid harming citizens in their houses.
