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‘Operation Northern Shield Uncovers’ Additional Cross-border Hizbullah Tunnels

The Israeli military over the weekend uncovered a second and third cross-border tunnel constructed by Iran’s Lebanon-based proxy Hizbullah, as Operation Northern Shield headed into week two. An Israeli army spokesperson described the subterranean structures as “not operational and [thus] not yet pos[ing] an imminent threat to the surrounding Israeli communities.” Nevertheless, the potential perils associated with the mission were evidenced Saturday when Israeli troops fired warning shots at suspects approaching the northern border. The Israelis believe the targets were Hizbullah members, but Lebanese state media claimed the Israeli army unassumingly shot at an LAF patrol that remained unidentified “because of heavy fog in the area.” While Israel thus far has limited its activities to its own territory, Jerusalem has called on the United Nations observer force that monitors the border region to destroy the entry points to the tunnels in Lebanon it has discovered. For his part, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu hailed the ongoing mission as a “great success,” and in an interview with American media blamed Iran for using its Hizbullah proxy as “the forward arm to attack Israel with a goal of destroying it.” The Israeli premier also told Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone that Jerusalem will continue to “prevent the establishment of an Iranian presence in Syria and to act against Iranian and Hizbullah aggression.”