In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced that the Israeli military has destroyed tunnels in the Mount Beaufort (Shqif) area of southern Lebanon, following their directives.
The statement alleged that the underground infrastructure was a critical element in Hezbollah's plan to infiltrate towns and communities in the Galilee area. The destruction of the tunnels involved the use of approximately 700 tons of explosives, as part of what was described as a systematic campaign to eliminate the party's infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
The operation's timing was prompted by what Israel termed a 'blatant violation' of the ceasefire agreement by Hezbollah, referring to the targeting of an Israeli engineering vehicle in the Ali al-Taher hill area.
Netanyahu and Katz affirmed that Israel would not tolerate any breach of the agreement, warning that any attempt by Hezbollah to target Israeli forces or settlers would be met with a 'firm and powerful' response that would inflict significant losses on the party.
The statement emphasized that the Israeli military will remain in the 'security zone' in southern Lebanon and will continue to destroy Hezbollah's infrastructure to prevent the rebuilding of its capabilities.