Israel says it found fourth 'Hizballah infiltration tunnel'

Israel's army said Sunday it has uncovered another Hizballah "attack tunnel" leading from Lebanon into its territory, the fourth since it started a search-and-destroy operation this month.

Israel alleged that the Iranian-backed militant group has dug the tunnels for use in a future conflict, and the military has been working to eliminate them.

The latest tunnel crossing into northern Israel was exposed at the weekend, the army said in a statement.

As with the other tunnels, soldiers placed explosives in it to keep out militants from the Lebanese side, it said.

The military refused to give the exact location, stressing the tunnel did not "pose an imminent threat".

On 4 December, the army announced an operation dubbed "Northern Shield" to destroy tunnels it said have been dug under the border by Hizballah.

Israel fought a devastating war against Hizballah in 2006 that was halted by a UN-brokered truce.

The anti-tunnel operation threatens to push the bitter enemies closer to an open confrontation for the first time in 12 years.

Hizballah is the only group in Lebanon not to have disarmed after the country's 1975-1990 civil war.

"The Lebanese government is held accountable for the attack tunnels dug from Lebanese territory," the Sunday statement said.

"This is another blatant breach of UN Resolution 1701 and of Israeli sovereignty," it added, referring to the resolution ending the 2006 war.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, UNIFIL, and international community should do more to curb Hizballah's "acts of aggression against Israel".

UNIFIL has verified the existence of two of the tunnels Israel has exposed so far.

Lebanon said last week it would submit a complaint to the United Nations about "repeated Israeli violations", state news agency NNA said.