IDF destroys tunnel crossing into Israeli territory amid focus on Hezbollah tunnel system

The IDF announced Tuesday evening that it had detected and destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel crossing over into Israeli territory. 

The announcement marks the first time since the end of Operation Northern Shield (2019) that the IDF detected a tunnel penetrating into Israel. 

The tunnel was discovered several months ago; however, the military chose to publicize its existence only after its forces began operating in southern Lebanon.

The IDF said that while the tunnel itself crossed into Israeli territory, it did not have an exit on the Israeli side. The military stressed that at no time were towns on the Israeli side threatened by the tunnel. 

The total length of the tunnel route is about 20 meters, with the entrance on the Lebanese side of the border near the village of Marwahin. 

Construction on the tunnel began about two years ago, and its presence was quickly discovered by the IDF, who continued to monitor its construction.

Only after the start of limited ground operations in southern Lebanon several months ago, did the IDF enter the tunnel, finding weapons and explosives. 

After the start of the larger-scale ground operations last week, the IDF destroyed the tunnel. 

Lebanon: The IDF deployed a fourth division—the 146th Reservist Division—to southwestern Lebanon on October 8 for “focused and delimited" ground operations against Hezbollah.

The IDF destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel that crossed the Israel-Lebanon border on October 8. (1/3) https://t.co/uHuFiWDsCB pic.twitter.com/8KUawHlqYx

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) October 9, 2024

The military also said it had destroyed at least 110 Hezbollah targets throughout southern Lebanon, killing at least 50 Hezbollah members, as well as destroying significant amounts of infrastructure belonging to the terror group.

With IDF troops operating in Lebanese territory, the military has begun to focus on Hezbollah’s “terror tunnels.” Similar to the situation in Gaza, the tunnels were constructed as a means of allowing Hezbollah fighters to store weapons and equipment close to the border while being protected from Israeli surveillance and fire. 

Following the end of the Second Lebanon War (2006), Hezbollah began constructing a massive tunnel network that links different parts of the country. This tunnel network contains different types of tunnels, with different purposes. Tactical tunnels enable terrorists to fight from underground, emerging quickly to engage the IDF before disappearing again. 

There are also “proximate tunnels”, designed to allow rapid and safe access to the border area, as part of the plan to invade the Galilee. 

Additionally, there are explosive tunnels. These are tunnels filled with explosives, to be activated by Hezbollah in the event of an IDF invasion of southern Lebanon. They are designed to cause losses and confusion among the IDF soldiers and hinder forward movement. 

Since then, Hezbollah has also constructed at least one network of smuggling tunnels under the Lebanon-Syria border to aid the entry of weapons into the country. 

This smuggling tunnel, in the northeast part of the country, was built due to IAF airstrikes in Syria intended to disrupt Iranian weapons transfers to Hezbollah. 

Last week, the IAF also struck this smuggling tunnel network, built by Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which oversees the smuggling of weapons into Lebanon. 

According to the Alma Research and Education Center, this tunnel was about 3 km (roughly 2 miles) long, and was used to transfer weapons from Iranian groups in Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Last night, according to reports in Israeli media, the IDF killed a senior Hezbollah operative who belonged to Unit 4400. Just last week, Israel killed the commander of Unit 4400, Muhammad Ja’far Qasir, during a targeted strike in Beirut. Qasir served as the Commander of the 4400 Unit for approximately 15 years and was responsible for the transfer and transportation of funds and weapons from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon.