The IDF began its Operation Northern Shield at the beginning of December when it revealed Hezbollah attack tunnels leading from within Lebanon into Israeli territory.
Since then 5 tunnels have been exposed and the IDF has begun destroying them. One of the more innovative ways has been to pour liquid cement into the tunnel. This has a double advantage: it permanently disables the tunnel, and the flow of the liquid reveals where the tunnel’s entrance is located:
The IDF, led by the Northern Command and the Galilee Division, completed the neutralization and destruction of the terrorist attack tunnels that were dug from the area of a Lebanese Shi’ite village and were exposed by the IDF as part of Operation Defensive Shield.
The attack tunnels were built as a secret and significant component in the attack plan that Hezbollah has been trying to develop in recent years and were intended to allow the terrorist group’s Ratwan unit to infiltrate into Israel without becoming subject to IDF fire.
The exposure and destruction of the tunnels has significantly impaired Hezbollah’s ability to carry out its plans, along with a series of activities carried out in recent years to improve the elements of the “elite” and “fortification” projects.
…
Over the years, Hezbollah claimed that its facility in Kafr Kila was a chicken coop next to a “block factory” and even sent a reporter to report from there. The work of the excavation of the terrorist tunnels was carried out under the guise of that “factory.”
The destruction of the tunnel in the village of Kila was accomplished through the pouring of liquid cement into the tunnel. The entrance to the factory and several streets in the village have been flooded with cement.
“These pictures of the flowing cement will speak for themselves and show the Lebanese government under which Hezbollah operates,” the IDF Spokesman said, adding that the operation was proceeding according to plan.
It should be noted that although the IDF has given information on a number of tunnels to UNIFIL to deal with them, the UN peacekeeping force does not appear to have taken any action yet. The operation is not over yet and it will take time until we neutralize all the tunnels,” the IDF Spokesperson said.
A much more entertaining and edifying view of the liquidization of the tunnel is provided via Legal Insurrection (which has extensive coverage of Operation Northern Shield).
The Jerusalem Post adds:
Twenty-three days after Israel launched Operation Northern Shield and uncovered the first tunnel dug by Hezbollah into northern Israel from southern Lebanon, the IDF has completed the destruction of a number of tunnels which infiltrated close to the community of Metulla.
According to IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis, the military destroyed the tunnels by filling them with material which would prevent the Shi’ite terrorist group from using them.
The material, he said, has come out of the tunnel in several places in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila where the tunnel was dug from, including in a residential building next to the border fence which was used to make bricks.
“This fact indicates Hezbollah’s use of civilian structures in the heart of an urban area in southern Lebanon, in flagrant violation of Resolution 1701 and endangering its citizens by using them as human shields,” the military said in a statement.
“It is clear that this factory belongs to Hezbollah and was used to build tunnels,” Manelis said, adding that there were other locations in Kfar Kila which were connected to tunnels and therefore the IDF saw material come out in several locations, including into residential homes.
“Whoever decides to live above a terror tunnel endangers his life, just like someone who decides to live above a weapons storehouse,” Manelis said.
This video shows the concrete slurry and the reaction from Hezbollah terrorists, who scramble to avoid the liquid like a scene from the 1950’s movie The Blob:
It should be noted that, similar to the way the IDF warns Gaza residents to evacuate before the Air Force bombs a nearby terrorist stronghold, the IDF also gave advance warning to Lebanese civilians before a tunnel under their own houses was destroyed. Watch this video:
In rather miraculous news UNIFIL finally confirmed that Hezbollah’s tunnels illegally penetrated into Israel:
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) concurred with the assessment of the Israeli government that the attack tunnels dug by the Hezbollah terrorist organization have penetrated Israeli territory.
The UNIFIL spokesman said in a statement that “UNIFIL is actively monitoring the developments related to the discovery of tunnels along the border by the IDF, and we have been informed of the discovery of four tunnels that crossed into Israel.”
“UNIFIL technical teams carried out a number of tests to find out the facts. On the basis of UNIFIL’s independent assessment, the force has so far confirmed the existence of all four tunnels close to the Blue Line on the northern border,” the organization said.
UNIFIL confirmed that two tunnels have crossed into Israeli territory “After further technical investigations conducted independently in accordance with its mandate, UNIFIL can at this stage confirm that two tunnels cross the Blue Line, a blatant violation of the UN Security Council resolution 1701 “.
“This is a worrisome development and we are continuing to investigate the tunnels, and we have asked the Lebanese authorities to ensure compliance with UN resolutions,” the organization said in a statement.
About time too! No other army in the world warns its enemy’s citizens before attack, and no other country in the world has to contend not only with enemies like Hamas and Hezbollah, but with the tail-wind provided by UNIFIL, the UN and hundreds of NGOs.
Kol hakavod to Tzahal, to the IDF and the Air Force, may Hashem continue to strengthen their hand and protect us from our enemies who are intent on destroying us.
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Kol hakavod to Tzahal.And this proves yet again how useless anything or anyone who is connected to the UN is.Thank G-d we are savvy enough not to rely on their “peace keeping”force!
Comment from the Arutz Sheva clip nails it:
Sophia Lopez
4 days ago
Well done, Israel! Except you should use their tunnels to send massive explosives next time, and where the tunnel entrance is found, drop a MOAB.
UNIFIL will do nothing- we have seen that it actively aids and abets Hizb. actions.
And, then, neutralize every living bipodal life form within 100m of the tunnel- why were those people, trucks, forklift, etc. not destroyed by the IDF on sight?
Well, you know that ain’t gonna happen, no matter how much we wish it to. We are too “humane” and too scared of our own shadow vis a vis the international community. Who couldn’t give a sh!t about our own human rights…
Sorry, Anne, but I must disagree and note that (retd.) Colonel Richard Kemp is, as so often, right. The IDF, as he notes constantly, is the one army that abides by the laws of war and seeks constantly not to cause civilian casualties where possible. Because, as the constant victims, Jews (and their fellow constant victims in Israel, Druze & Bedouin) know only too well that they will be judged as being in the wrong whatever they do. So, do the right thing and shame the devil: it’s those who refuse to believe this who will be sharing their accommodation with the devil, and not the Israelis.
Hezbollah’s tunnels have been destroyed, so now they will have to either a) put off their assault on Israel until they build more (and that would mean effective calm for a couple [or more] years, with little cost to Israel) or b) come swarming across the border above ground: just where the IDF and the IAF want them.
I note that just today there was an article in either Times of Israel or The Algemeiner (sorry, I didn’t keep it) that the IDF has just formed a special reserve battalion to combat a Hezbollah attack across the Lebanese border and then to pursue them back into Lebanon.
The IDF wouldn’t let that out unless they were very confident of their intelligence as to what Hezbollah were planning.
Of course Hezbollah attempted to rubbish this report in their usual “We who love death…” nonsense manner, but it demonstrated, yet again, that Israel’s opponents continue to wilfully misinterpret Israel’s intent and abilities.
Long may it continue.
Israel is, after all, the one who, after each conflict, convenes a committee of enquiry to examine what went right, what wrong, etc, while the opposition hand out “victory” T-Shirts.
Guess who’s better prepared for next time.
If only there wasn’t going to be a next time. (sigh)
You always talk sense Brian, and you must know me by now, I like to vent.
I must admit though, I get so frustrated with the double standard by which Israel is judged, and there are times when I feel that Israel is tying its own hands in its actions towards the terrorists because of fear of international reaction. There is no reason on earth why Israel should not kill terrorists in a battle. And the world has no reason to condemn Israel for this, when a) they do it themselves and b) it is the moral thing to do. I often feel that Israel restrains the IDF out of this irrational fear, and it greatly worries me.
Goldfarb and I are worlds apart on this issue, but let me re-state two of your comments, Anne:
“There is no reason on earth why Israel should not kill every terrorist in every battle”; and
“And the world has no reason to condemn Israel for this, beyond a deep and suppurating Judenhass that infects every level of every “progressive” international body…”
/I can assure you, when I am over in IL this year “doing my bit”, I will NOT be pleased if I or an associate are killed or maimed as a result of Israel having effected Goldfarb’s “shaming the devil” model…
Sorry, Earl, but I think you are putting words into my mouth. I nowhere say that Israel & the IDF shouldn’t be prepared to kill terrorists as and when they present an existential threat to Israel, i.e., the moment they throw rockets, etc at Israel and/or cross the border. What I DO say is that, as Colonel Kemp is always noting (and as a former active service – that is, not an armchair – soldier, he should better than either of us), the IDF make strenuous efforts to avoid civilian casualties wherever possible, providing this doesn’t put Israeli civilians and soldiers at risk.
What I did (and always do) say is that anything the IDF can do to slow the terrorists down and force them into conventional combat is great: it reduces the risk both to the much better prepared IDF (with its excellent command of modern military technology) and to Israeli civilians. So destroying the tunnels is excellent news, for the reasons I argue above.
Thus the destruction of Hezbollah tunnels will force them either to delay their inevitable (as always) efforts to attack Israel (because they can no longer sneak into Israel via tunnels), or they will have to resort to conventional military methods and attempt to swarm across the border…to meet a superior force of conventional modern soldiers, dug-in and waiting for them with superior weapons and tactics.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Hezbollah’s leaders realised that their foot soldiers being dead doesn’t bring them victory and sued for peace instead?
If only…(sigh)