Dr Mike Evans

IDF destroys Hezbollah tunnel, filling it with concrete By Dr Mike Evans

IDF troops from the 36th Division, in coordination with special units and the Intelligence Directorate, uncovered and destroyed a large underground Hezbollah compound in southern Lebanon, the military said in a statement Sunday evening.

The compound, hidden beneath a cemetery, was found after a week-long operation aimed at locating and dismantling Hezbollah’s underground infrastructure.

During the operation, the troops discovered a network of tunnels leading to the compound, which included command rooms, living quarters, and weapon storage facilities filled with combat gear, all believed to be prepared for potential attacks on Israel, particularly as part of Hezbollah’s broader plans for the Galilee region.

The operation involved several units, including the 36th Division, the Yahalom Unit, Golani Brigade, 282nd Brigade, and the 605th Engineering Battalion. The compound and tunnel system, which spanned roughly one kilometer in length and reached a height of about two meters, was located about 1.5 kilometers from the Israeli border. The tunnels did not extend into Israeli territory.

Unlike other underground facilities destroyed through controlled demolitions, this compound was sealed using a large-scale engineering effort. The IDF poured approximately 4,500 cubic meters (about 159,000 cubic feet) of concrete into the site, requiring hundreds of trucks and concrete mixers for the operation.

In related developments, Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya reported that Salim Jamil Ayyash, a senior Hezbollah commander convicted in absentia for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Syria.

Ayyash, who had fled Lebanon after the assassination, was convicted by the U.N. Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2020. The U.S. had previously offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture, citing his involvement in attacks against U.S. personnel.

The strike, reportedly targeting a Hezbollah facility near Qusayr in western Syria, occurred on November 9. Israel typically does not comment on such operations. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked NGO, confirmed the strike and reported that Israel had conducted multiple airstrikes in Syria in early November, killing at least 25 Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed militia members.