End of Operation Northern Shield to expose and neutralize Hezbollah tunnels on Israel’s northern border

overview

On January 13, 2019, Israel announced the completion of Operation Northern Shield, carried out to locate and neutralize Hezbollah tunnels penetrating into Israeli territory from Lebanon. According to the announcement, all the tunnels crossing the border had been exposed. Therefore according to the IDF spokesman, the threat of tunnels in Israel’s north had been lifted. The entire operation was carried out inside Israeli territory. The IDF announced it was monitoring a number of sites in Lebanon from which Hezbollah is digging tunnels that have not yet crossed the Israel-Lebanon border (IDF spokesman, January 13, 2019).

• During Operation Northern Shield, which began on December 4, 2018 six tunnels penetrating into Israeli territory were exposed and neutralized. Throughout the operation Hezbollah operatives monitored the IDF’s activity but did not engage in friction with IDF soldiers. The Hezbollah leadership, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, have so far preserved media silence and made almost no reference to the events.
• The Lebanese government, however, has no appropriate response to Hezbollah’s tunnel project and its gross violation of Security Council Resolution 1701 (which Israel brought before the Security Council). Having no response, on the eve of the end of Operation Northern Shield, the Lebanese government launched a political and media campaign accusing Israel of violating Lebanese sovereignty by constructing a security fence along the border (especially in the region of Adaisseh, across the border from the Israeli community of Misgav Am). Thus the Lebanese government serves the interests of Hezbollah, which wants to focus international and internal Lebanese attention on Israel’s alleged violations of Resolution 1701, deflecting attention from the tunnel project.

The IDF Locates a Sixth Hezbollah Tunnel

• On January 12, 2019, the IDF announced it had located another Hezbollah tunnel in south Lebanon, which dug from the south Lebanese village of Ramyeh (in the western sector of the border, across from the community of Zar’it). It was the sixth tunnel located during Operation Northern Shield. An examination of the tunnel showed it was the largest and most complex tunnel exposed during the operation. It was several hundred meters long and penetrated tens of meters into Israeli territory. The tunnel was two meters high, one meter wide and dug 55 meters (about 180 feet) below ground. There was a track for waste disposal and electric and lighting systems. A circular staircase cut into the rock made it possible to exit the tunnel inside Israeli territory. According to the IDF spokesman, the tunnel was incomplete when it was neutralized and did not present a danger to the residents of northern Israel (IDF spokesman, January 13, 2019).

   
The sixth Hezbollah tunnel penetrating into Israeli territory
(IDF spokesman’s website, January 13, 2019).

The Tunnels Exposed during Operation Northern Shield

During Operation Northern Shield the IDF located six tunnels penetrating into Israeli territory, which were neutralized and made inoperable. According to the IDF spokesman, with the exposure of the sixth tunnel the operation of locating Hezbollah tunnels crossing the border into Israeli territory has been completed. The IDF spokesman also reported that the IDF continued monitoring a number of sites where Hezbollah was digging tunnels which had not yet crossed the border (IDF spokesman, January 13, 2019).

• The Hezbollah tunnels penetrating into Israel were the following:
  • December 4, 2018 (the first day of the operation): A tunnel was located in Israeli territory south of Kafr Kila. The IDF spokesman reported that the tunnel had been dug over a period of two years from inside homes in the southern area of the village. It was about 200 meters long and about 40 meters penetrated into Israel (IDF spokesman, December 4, 2018).
  • December 8, 2018: A tunnel was exposed crossing the Israel-Lebanese border. Its route inside Israel was booby-trapped by IDF forces, so that anyone entering the tunnel from the Lebanese side would risk his life (IDF spokesman, December 8, 2018).
  • December 11, 2018: The IDF announced a third tunnel penetrating into Israeli territory from Lebanon had been exposed. It was booby trapped by the IDF forces (IDF spokesman, December 11 2018).
  • December 15, 2018: IDF forces exposed a fourth tunnel crossing the border from Lebanon into Israeli territory. It was dug from the direction of Ramyeh in the western sector of south Lebanon and penetrated several meters into Israel in the direction of the community of Zar’it (IDF spokesman, December 16, 2018).
  • December 26, 2018: The IDF blew up the fifth Hezbollah tunnel penetrating into Israel territory, located a few days previously in the region of Ayta al-Shab in the western sector of south Lebanon east of the community of Zar’it.
  • January 12, 2019: The IDF announced the exposure of a sixth tunnel penetrating tens of meters into Israeli territory, dug from the village of Ramyeh in the western sector of south Lebanon (IDF spokesman, January 13, 2019).

The Lebanese Government Campaign to Draw Attention Away from Hezbollah’s Tunnel Project

In the absence of an appropriate international response to Hezbollah’s construction of attack tunnels in gross violation of Security Council Resolution 1701, the Lebanese government launched a political and media campaign attacking Israel’s construction of a security fence on its northern border. Its objective is to deflect international and internal Lebanese attention away from the Hezbollah tunnel project. Lebanon’s main objections focus on the Israeli construction near the village of Adaisseh and accuse Israel of violating Lebanese sovereignty and Security Council Resolution 1701. The Lebanese government’s campaign serves Hezbollah’s interests and helps it deflect public attention away from the issue of the tunnels.

The activity of the Lebanese government

• General Michel Aoun, the Lebanese president, called a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council to discuss the situation in south Lebanon in view of the construction of the Israeli security fence. Present at the meeting were Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri, the foreign minister, the minister of the interior, the defense minister and the heads of the Lebanese security forces. They were briefed on the security situation and maps of the IDF activity were distributed. They concluded that the IDF activity on Israel’s northern border was a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The council voted to lodge a complaint with the Security Council against Israel, and to demand from the Security Council and the UNIFIL forces that Israel implement Security Council Resolution 1701 in south Lebanon. The council also voted to intensify Lebanon’s international contacts to make its positions clear (Lebanese Defense Minister Yacoub Sarraf’s Facebook page, January 10 2019).

    
Right: The meeting of the Lebanese Supreme Defense Council, headed by General Michel Aoun. Left: The Lebanese president, and sitting next to him Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri, examine
maps updating the IDF activity along Israel’s northern border (General Michel Aoun’s Facebook page, January 10, 2019).

• The Lebanese foreign ministry issued a statement about the construction of the security fence, stressing that Israel was violating Lebanese sovereignty. The statement called on the Security Council to meet and act regarding Israel’s violations of Security Council Resolution 1701, as the international community had met regarding Israel’s complaint about Lebanon’s violation of the resolution (regarding the construction of the tunnels). Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil asked the Lebanese delegation to the UN to lodge a formal complaint with the UN Security Council (Lebanese News Agency, January 11, 2019).
• The Hezbollah-affiliated media in south Lebanon reported an extensive deployment of Lebanese army and UNIFIL forces in the region of Adaisseh (across the border from the Israeli community of Misgav Am). Ali Murtada, a correspondent for the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Mayadeen, reported that Lebanese army forces were deployed in the area and were on high alert (al-Mayadeen, January 11, 2019). Ali Shoeib, a correspondent for Hezbollah’s al-Manar and Radio Nur, also reported the deployment of Lebanese army forces who were on high alert and waiting for official decisions. He later reported that the IDF had placed 26 concrete wall sections along the Blue Line (the Israeli-Lebanese border) and removed its bulldozers after the completion of the activity (al-Manar, January 11, 2019).

   
The Lebanese army deploys to the area of Adaisseh in response to the IDF activity (Ali Shoeib’s Twitter account, January 11, 2019).

UNIFIL and International Action

UNIFIL

• UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said the situation on the Israel-Lebanon border was stable and under control, and that UNIFIL soldiers were deployed in the area to preserve calm. He said UNIFIL commander Stefan Del Col was in charge of contacts to resolve the issue (Lebanese News Agency, January 11, 2019).
• UNIFIL commander Stefan Del Col visited the area of the IDF’s construction activities (Lebanese News Agency, January 12, 2019). On January 14, 2019, he met with Gebran Bassil, the Lebanese foreign minister, to discuss the tension along the Blue Line. Del Col noted the importance of both sides continuing to hold talks and not worsen the tension. He called on both sides to honor Resolution 1701 (UNIFIL website and the Lebanese News Agency, January 14, 2019).

The United States

• David Hill, American Undersecretary of State, who is currently visiting Lebanon, has had a series of meetings with important figures in the Lebanese go, among them President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and various ministers. They discussed the recent developments along the Lebanese border and Lebanon’s tension with Israel (American embassy in Beirut Twitter account, January 13 and 14, 2019). In addition, Hill met with UNIFIL commander Stefan Del Col to discuss implementing the UN mandate in south Lebanon, especially in the wake of the exposure of Hezbollah’s tunnels, which violate Security Council Resolution 1701 (American embassy in Beirut Twitter account, January 14, 2019).

    
Right: David Hill (left) shakes hands with Lebanese President Michel Aoun. Left: Hill meets with Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun (American embassy in Beirut Twitter account, January 13, 2019).

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