Israeli Security Analysts: Exposure Of Attack Tunnels Just The Beginning Of Larger Operation

Analysts: dealing with Hezbollah tunnels first step before going after missiles

Israeli security analysts believe that the decision to expose the Hezbollah attack tunnel is a precursor to a larger Israeli operation to remove the threat posed by the precision missiles being developed by the Lebanese terror group together with their Iranian sponsors.

On Tuesday the IDF said it uncovered the “first of what are sure to be many” cross-border attack tunnels dug by Hezbollah, as part of its newly launched Operation Northern Shield. The tunnel was found south of the Israeli town of Metulla along the Lebanese border. The army said it was some 200 meters (650 feet) long, extending some 40 meters (120 feet) into Israeli territory.

Israel’s Channel 10 TV later said the IDF estimates that there are some 10 attack tunnels.

However, the channel noted that Israel’s military reaction to the tunnel discovery was subdued and forces did not enter Lebanon to destroy it, saying that this was largely due to an expectation that the IDF would have to launch a far greater operation in the near future to deal with Hezbollah’s efforts to add precision guidance to its arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets.

However, Channel 10 analysts said that it was important that the tunnels were destroyed before Israel launched a large-scale military operation.

This assessment was backed up by Amos Yadlin, the head of the Institute for National Security Studies and the former head of former chief of Israeli military intelligence.

GREAT achievement to the IDF for thwarting Hizbullah’s attack tunnels into the Galilee and Israeli civilians. Discovering tunnels is a vast challenge, and the time for National Security Awards and decorations will come, social-media cynicism aside.1/10

— Amos Yadlin (@YadlinAmos) December 4, 2018

“The MORE CRITICAL CHALLENGE, stopping the “Precision Project” is still ahead, with legitimacy issues and escalation risks at a totally different level,” Yadlin wrote on Twitter, adding that it was also an important message to Hezbollah.

“The tunnels’ exposure carries a message to Hizbullah, who based its operations on secrecy, covert action and surprise. It needs to consider that it is in fact, exposed and vulnerable to Israel’s Intel. Its safe and secret posts may prove as death traps to his terrorists,” he wrote.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also suggested there was far more to come.

“Two weeks ago I said that in order to ensure the security of Israel we need a steady hand and patience. I added that much cannot be revealed,” he said during a televised address at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

“Today, again, I want to say that what we will reveal to you now is only a small piece of the big picture of our efforts and our actions to ensure our security on all fronts. We are taking everything into account and all is being done with the utmost deliberation,” Netanyahu said.

Israel has repeatedly warned that Iran was trying to set up missile factoriesin Lebanon to upgrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and warned that it was a red line for Israel.

In his speech, Netanyahu also said that Israeli efforts to destroy cross-border tunnels built by Hezbollah were “not an isolated operation, but a wide and ongoing operation” aimed at targeting a broader push by the Iran-backed terror group to capture parts of the Galilee from Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday called up a small number of reservists, as it prepared for a potential retaliation by Hezbollah in response to the operation to find and destroy cross-border attack tunnels the military says the terror group dug into Israeli territory.