Israel begins destroying Hizballah tunnels: army

The Israeli army on Thursday night began destroying cross-border tunnels dug by Hizballah, it said, more than two weeks after announcing their discovery on the frontier with Lebanon.

Since launching an operation to cut off the tunnels on December 4, the Israeli military said it has located four underground passageways infiltrating Israeli territory.

"The neutralisation and destruction phase of the cross-border attack tunnels... has begun," the Israeli army said in a statement.

The army also issued a warning to Hizballah, the Lebanese group with which Israel fought a devastating war in 2006.

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) continues to operate... with reinforced troops, and is prepared with a wide variety of enhanced capabilities for any developments, should they occur," the army said.

It later tweeted that the "explosions" Israeli families were hearing in the north of the country were the sound of its "soldiers destroying Hizballah attack tunnels".

Israel alleges Hizballah had planned to use the tunnels to kidnap or kill its civilians or soldiers, and to seize a slice of Israeli territory in the event of any hostilities.

The army said it would "continue to operate to neutralise Hizballah's military infrastructure and to thwart" any threats from the Lebanese group against Israel and its civilians.

A month-long war in 2006 between Israel and Hizballah killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

The Israeli army said the operation to locate and destroy the tunnels was defensive, and that it would involve different techniques.

"This phase will... ensure that the attack tunnels cannot be used by the Hizballah terror organisation and will prevent it from implementing its plans," said the statement.

The army advised Israeli authorities and UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, to notify its Lebanese counterpart to take measures to protect civilians across the border.

It said it held the Lebanese government "accountable for digging the attack tunnels".

"The IDF warns against approaching the openings of the tunnels or staying close to them on the Lebanese side," said the statement.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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