IDF’s Next-Gen Sensors Detect Hezbollah Tunnels in the North

Last year, the IDF destroyed six Hezbollah tunnels that ran from Lebanon into Israel.

By United with Israel Staff

On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began deploying technology that detects the excavation of terror tunnels on the Lebanese border. This follows a campaign last year through which the IDF destroyed six Hezbollah tunnels as part of Operation Northern Shield.

“The purpose of the infrastructure is to discover underground excavations along the Lebanese border,” IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Hidai Zilberman said. “It is important to emphasize that there is no new information about tunnels crossing the border and the system’s default setup is as a preventive infrastructure facility” for gathering new intelligence.

The IDF is first installing the system, which is capable of collecting both acoustic and seismic data, near Misgav Am, in the upper Galilee near the Lebanon border.

Due to the digging and drilling required to make holes for installation, the military publicized its efforts to avoid panic on both sides of the border. “This is an action that will be seen and heard both in our territory and on the Lebanese side — we want to prevent a miscalculation,” said IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and local authorities were directly informed of the work.

This is another effort by Israel to protect its northern border and civilians from terrorists. Thus far, Israel has invested significantly in a variety of protective measures including artificial cliffs and high concrete barriers to prevent ground attacks by Hezbollah.

Terrorists have been building sophisticated tunnels for years on Israel’s southern and northern borders. Hezbollah planned to use their now-destroyed tunnels to infiltrate Israel and attack military and civilian targets.

Over the past eight years, Hezbollah built the Radway Unit, a special forces team tasked with entering Israel for the purpose of terror. Its tunnels are part of that campaign.

Full installation of the sensors on the northern border is expected to take several months with the first deployment reportedly taking a few weeks.

“The deployment of the infrastructure is another component of the extensive defense effort that is regularly conducted in the Galilee region,” said the IDF in a statement. “IDF forces will continue to fulfill their mission of defending and operating around the clock in order to preserve the sovereignty of the State of Israel and protect its residents.”