Israeli experts have expressed concerns over Hezbollah's tunnel systems in the event of a full-scale war on the northern front. They warned of the possibility of party members penetrating the border, infiltrating Israeli territory, and carrying out attacks with severe consequences. The Israeli newspaper "Israel Hayom" reported in April that experts from the Alma Center for Security Studies indicated that Hezbollah, with the assistance of Iran and North Korea for the past 18 years, has constructed offensive and highly complex tunnel networks that far exceed those of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Tal Baril, head of research at the Israeli Alma Institute, stated: "There are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels built underground, within solid rock and at great depths." Retired Israeli brigadier general Ronen Manalis mentioned that Hezbollah's tunnel system is "ten times more advanced" than the network Israel encountered in Gaza. Manalis noted the destruction of Hezbollah tunnels in southern Lebanon in 2018 during an operation known as "Northern Shield," where six of the party's tunnels were destroyed or neutralized by injecting large amounts of steel-reinforced concrete into them and through blasting.
The Israeli newspaper cited Manalis as saying at that time: "I don't want to imagine what would happen at the northern border if these tunnels were active today." Earlier, specifically in February, the French newspaper "Liberation" revealed in a report that Hezbollah possesses a more advanced secret tunnel network than Hamas's in Gaza. According to the newspaper, Hezbollah's tunnels extend for hundreds of kilometers, with branches reaching Israel and possibly further into Syria.
The newspaper cited researchers and Israeli sources saying that "the party has established a defensive plan with dozens of operations centers equipped with underground local networks connecting Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon." The Israeli government envisions Hezbollah tunnels at the northern border reaching the Galilee hospital in Nahariya, located just 10 km from the northern Israeli coast.
Months ago, following complaints received by the Nahariya Medical Center's administration about noise from digging, the Israeli army decided to conduct a series of ground tests to rule out concerns about the existence of a tunnel reaching from Lebanon to the mentioned hospital. According to "Israel Hayom," Israeli authorities carried out over 40 excavations for testing purposes, but these tests resulted in nothing, leading to the conclusion that there were no tunnels in the hospital area. The newspaper noted that the Galilee hospital in Nahariya is the closest hospital geographically to the northern border with Lebanon, about 10 km away, highlighting that initial reports about the tunnel concern emerged in December of last year.
