If the tunnels have penetrated Israel’s territory, terrorists could emerge, invade, and possibly do greater damage.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Hezbollah has built a network of terror tunnels in Lebanon that may be more extensive than those the IDF discovered in Gaza and may cross the border into Israel, a security expert told Zman Israel.
Last month in Gaza, the IDF discovered tunnels wide enough to accommodate large vehicles running from the Jabaliya area to 400 meters from the Erez Crossing.
However, the terror tunnel project in Lebanon was started much earlier than that in Gaza and is far more complex and potentially dangerous.
There is some speculation that Hamas terrorists might have driven through the terror tunnels without the IDF detecting them only to emerge and invade Israel’s border.
The same strategy could be used for Hezbollah terrorists, and if the tunnels have penetrated Israel’s territory, terrorists could emerge, invade, and possibly do greater damage.
Tal Beeri is a leading expert on Hezbollah’s tunnel system and is the Research Director of the Alma Research and Education Center which is focused on the defense of Israel’s northern region.
Beeri, who served for many years in IDF intelligence units discovered on the internet the “map of polygons” covering what he has termed the “Land of the Tunnels” in southern Lebanon marking 36 regions and towns.
Beeri’s research found that in each region there is a network of tunnels with a sophisticated infrastructure of tunnels connecting the regions.
He estimates that this network represents a cumulative length of hundreds of kilometers.
His research paper “Land of the Tunnels” was published following 2021’s Operation Guardian of the Walls during which the IDF engaged with Gaza tunnels but did not complete their goal of eliminating them.
In the paper, Beeri discusses a likely 45-kilometer attack tunnel in south Lebanon.
As part of the research, Beeri examined a 2007 video showing Imad Mughniyeh, a Hezbollah leader killed in February 2008 who seems to be in an attack tunnel inside Lebanon.
He has identified three types of tunnels–attack tunnels so terrorists can emerge and attack, tactical tunnels for moving, transport, and fighting and explosive tunnels which are designed to blow up their targets.
Beeri says the North Koreans may have assisted Hezbollah in designing and building the tunnels as early as the 80s and the ’90s, and the terror group has developed an extensive network since then.
Beeri says his research has an added urgency given the current situation.
“We see the work that Hamas has been doing. And if that’s what’s been going on with the digging and building of the tunnels in Gaza, well, in Lebanon, it’s more sophisticated,” Beeri explained.