2,000 Hezbollah terror infrastructure destroyed, 440 terrorists killed

 

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari on Saturday night gave a press briefing, reporting on the events of the Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) holiday and the following Shabbat (Sabbath).

"We are pushing Hezbollah northwards," he said in a statement. "Some of the terrorists have escaped, some of them are defeated by our forces in face-to-face clashes."

"Since the start of the ground invasion, around 440 Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated, including 30 commanders of varying ranks."

Hagari also noted that a Hezbollah terror tunnel that did not cross into Israeli territory had been destroyed.

According to an IDF statement, the Paratroopers Brigade, Yahalom Unit and the Northern Command Combat Engineering Unit, under the command of the 98th Division, destroyed 250 meters of underground terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon. The underground infrastructure was identified and investigated during cross-border operations conducted in recent weeks in coordination with special units.

IDF troops uncovered command centers, terrorist combat packs, and a large number of weapons designated to be used in an invasion by Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces into Israel. They also found living quarters equipped with showers, a kitchen, and stockpiles of food.

"The underground infrastructure did not cross into Israeli territory," Hagari stressed, noting that it reached 300 meters from the Lebanon-Israel border.

He noted that the tunnel had been intended for use in an invasion into northern Israel.

The IDF added that it was sealed by the Northern Command Combat Engineering Unit and the Yahalom Unit in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense Department of Engineering and Construction.

"The soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade continue to fight in southern Lebanon, navigating complex, mountainous, and dense terrain. Inside a Hezbollah stronghold used by the terrorist organization as a base to carry out attacks on Israeli civilians, the soldiers uncovered hundreds of weapons," an IDF statement stressed, adding that "the soldiers also eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat and directed aerial strikes."