Northern residents express relief tunnel was discovered before it could be used for terror. ‘The outcome could have been catastrophic.’
By United with Israel and JNS
Israel Defense Forces soldiers destroyed a Hezbollah terrorist tunnel that crossed some 10 meters (33 feet) into sovereign Israeli territory from Lebanon, the military revealed on Tuesday night.
According to the statement, the tunnel had no exit in Israeli territory, though its path crossed the Blue Line—a U.N.-recognized delineation marking Jerusalem’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000—in the area of Zar’it, an agricultural community in the Upper Galilee near the border.
The underground infrastructure was physically located in recent months during a targeted IDF counter-terrorism operation to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure in Southern Lebanon, the army statement announced.
“The tunnel was under full [Israeli] operational control until troops arrived in the area [as part of the IDF ground maneuver] in order to prevent it from being used to carry out terrorism,” the statement noted.
Elite IDF troops were said to have discovered a cache of weapons and explosive devices, as well as anti-tank missiles, in the tunnel.
“The IDF will continue its limited, localized, targeted ground operations based on precise intelligence and targeted airstrikes in Southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is no longer a threat to the civilians of northern Israel,” said the army.
The statement noted that no additional tunnels have been found so far.
מצורף סרטון של פנים המנהרה שאותרה במרחב מרווחין pic.twitter.com/2ayhjbvsjD
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 8, 2024
Sara and Zion Arbiv, residents of Zar’it, responded to the discovery of the tunnel, whose existence they said came as no surprise.
“Everyone said we were imagining it,” they told Walla News, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The Arbivs said they had “been warning the authorities for years.”
“No one can claim we didn’t try to raise awareness — we reached out to local officials and even to the government,” the noted, adding, “We were always told we didn’t understand or that we were imagining things.”
They emphasized the dangers of day to day living in an area under constant threat from a Hezbollah attack. “Whoever thought that we would return home without the IDF providing an impenetrable barrier needs to reconsider,” the Arbivs added. “We will no longer serve as the state’s human shield.”
The Arbivs expressed relief that the tunnel was discovered before Hezbollah used it to carry out an attack, especially in light of Hamas’ attack on October 7.
“It’s a miracle they didn’t invade from the north on the same day,” they said. “Had they done so, the outcome could have been catastrophic.”