According to the military, the main reason for its raid on the Beaufort Castle area was to capture and demolish the underground site, as well as to prevent Hezbollah from carrying out rocket attacks on Israel from the area. “The IDF launched operations in the Beaufort area to achieve operational control over the area, which constitutes a threat to Israeli civilians, and to enable the destruction of the tunnel network,” the military says. The IDF says the tunnel was “built in a civilian area, in a location that enables operational control over the Galilee Panhandle region, only six kilometers from Metula, and served as Hezbollah's center in the area.”
Troops are now working to destroy the “major Hezbollah underground infrastructure site in the Beaufort Ridge area,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a video statement. “This is an underground network consisting of several levels excavated deep into the rocky ground. The entire network was built with full funding and planning by the Iranian terror regime over more than a decade,” he says. Defrin says the underground site served Hezbollah as a “significant command-and-control center, where hundreds of Hezbollah operatives were stationed.”
The Hezbollah operatives managed the fighting from the underground site, including during the current war, but fled when the IDF launched its operation, he says. “We planned the operation for a long time and waited for the appropriate operational opportunity to carry it out. The complex was struck from the air several times, and now, through a ground operation, we are working to destroy it,” Defrin says. The military says the tunnel featured water and electricity infrastructure, anti-tank and anti-aircraft capabilities, and numerous rooms, including several living quarters, showers, restrooms, an operating room, and kitchens.
Hezbollah also stored weapons at the underground site, with the IDF reporting that it found a room with anti-tank missiles, a launcher, and other military equipment. According to the IDF, Hezbollah launched over 400 rockets from the area at northern Israel during the current fighting, as well as drones, shoulder-launched missiles, and anti-tank missiles at troops. The IDF says that the underground site was constructed “in an area where the Lebanese army operates.” “As part of efforts to enforce the agreement between Israel and Lebanon, a request was submitted to the Lebanese army to address the site, but Hezbollah clearly prevented it from doing so,” the military adds.
https://x.com/manniefabian/status/2063663121420472518
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