IDF Chief Zamir Warns of Offensive Over Hezbollah Tunnels

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir announced Sunday that Israeli troops have gained operational control of a Hezbollah underground tunnel network beneath the strategic Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon. During an operational assessment at the site, Zamir described the complex as a hub for command centers and firing positions funded and directed by Iran to threaten northern Israeli communities.

Zamir asserted that the IDF controls both the above-ground terrain and the subterranean networks. He demanded that the Lebanese Armed Forces fulfill their commitments under a US-brokered framework agreement signed in Washington on June 26, which requires the national military to clear the area of Hezbollah operatives and terrorist infrastructure.

While praising the IDF's 36th Division for crossing the Litani River and weakening an exhausted Hezbollah, Zamir warned that the military is prepared to transition rapidly to offensive operations if the ceasefire is violated. These developments follow a massive Israeli ground invasion of southern Lebanon sparked by Hezbollah rocket fire on March 2, after the deaths of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes. Although Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the capture of Beaufort Castle in late May, Hezbollah claimed the site was free of military resistance and alleged the occupation was for propaganda purposes.