This is the moment soldiers uncovered a vast Hezbollah weapons cache and tunnels underneath the floor of a CLOTHES SHOP. The exact date and time are classified, but the startling video shows IDF (Israel Defence Forces) troops uncovering the manhole in the floor of the retail outlet which leads down to a warren of tunnels earlier this month in a town called El-Khiam, Lebanon.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express, a military official said that inside the tunnels there was accommodation, weapons, racks of bullets and fuel tanks for use by Hezbollah terrorists
The IDF said the 25-metre-deep network was used as a command center by the Hezbollah terrorist organization. A statement said: “Hezbollah embeds its terror infrastructure within civilian areas, thereby endangering the residents of Lebanon.
“The construction of underground infrastructure within civilian areas in Lebanon constitutes a deliberate and cynical exploitation of Lebanese civilians in order to advance Hezbollah’s terrorist objectives.
“The IDF will continue to maintain the forward defence posture to defend Israeli civilians and IDF troops, push Hezbollah threats away from Israeli communities, and remove threats.”
Speaking to the Express, a military official said: “At first it looked like a regular clothing store, but very quickly you can see on the floor a hole and inside the hole we found a lot of weapons and ammunition.
“When we went 25 metres down, it was a command centre complex and not a civilian place. Hezbollah use the civilian areas and even a clothes shop to hide their military infrastructure.”
The military official said the tunnel was uncovered this month after around three weeks of fighting with Hezbollah terrorists.
He added: “It would have taken at least six months to build this complex and every night we are discovering sites like this. There are more tunnels in fact, but because this tunnel is very out-of-the-ordinary it stood out.”
A second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon was set to start Thursday in Washington.
Hezbollah said it attacked Israeli positions in southern Lebanon on Thursday and targeted Israeli soldiers in the southern village of Taybeh and downed a drone in the Majdal Zone. The terrorists also claimed they resumed attacks on Israel were in retaliation for what it claimed were Israeli violations of the 10-day ceasefire that took effect on Friday.
The Israeli army said it intercepted an “aerial target” in southern Lebanon on the same day. Israel has also accused Hezbollah of breaching the ceasefire.
The head of the UN’s peacekeeping operations said he expects the possible replacement for its force in southern Lebanon will “probably be smaller” than the current one that’s been in place for nearly a half-century.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the UNIFIL operation, which has inhabited a tense zone where militants from Hezbollah and Israeli forces have battled repeatedly, has recently faced pressure from funding cuts.
The force’s mandate ends at the end of the year. UN officials are facing a June 1 deadline to present a proposal for the force that could replace it.
