International peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon have confirmed Israeli intelligence showing the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah has been operating several tunnels along Israel's northern border, a tactic used by this group to conduct terrorist raids.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, has confirmed the existence of at least five separate tunnels running between Lebanese and Israeli territory.
These types of underground bunkers have been used by Hamas and other terrorist groups to transport weapons and militants into Israeli territory in order to conduct attacks and kidnappings. Hezbollah, with Tehran's backing, has also adopted this technique in a bid to cause further chaos on Israel's northern border.
Israeli military officials forwarded to UNIFIL information on at least six separate tunnels, five of which the international group has been able to independently confirm.
"Following independent technical investigations undertaken in accordance with its mandate, UNIFIL had already confirmed that two of the tunnels cross the Blue Line, in violation of the UN Security Council resolution 1701," UNIFIL said in a statement.
"Recently, UNIFIL carried out a technical inspection of the last tunnel discovered by the IDF in northern Israel close to the Blue Line and across from the Lebanese village of Ramyah," the group said. "UNIFIL's independent assessment confirms that this tunnel crosses the Blue Line in violation of resolution 1701."
"Overall, of the six tunnels reported by the IDF until now, UNIFIL has independently confirmed the existence of five tunnels close to the Blue Line in northern Israel," the group announced. "Of these, three tunnels have been found to be crossing the Blue Line."
"UNIFIL has informed the Lebanese authorities about the violation and has requested urgent follow-up actions in accordance with the responsibilities of the Government of Lebanon pursuant to resolution 1701," according to the statement.