More than 70 special operations took place over the last year in which IDF forces spent more than 200 nights in enemy territory in southern Lebanon, as reported by Doron Kadosh.
Some of the missions even lasted 2-3 consecutive days of staying in southern Lebanon. Many special units of the IDF engaged in these operations. As part of the operations, the forces entered the Hezbollah tunnels, destroyed weapons in the territory itself, captured and placed explosives, and also removed weapons and intelligence documents to Israeli territory.
In two of the operations over the past few months, our forces were injured - one as a result of exploding traps, and one as a result of the explosion of an old bomb that was left in the field. Hezbollah did not recognize these operations and there were no encounters or battles with terrorists at all.
The operations were carried out at a distance of up to 2-3 km from the border with Israel in the nearest strip of villages.
1. In the Lavona area (a tangled open area), the IDF located an underground bunker at the site that leads to a tunnel into which the fighters entered. This is the deployment area of 3 Radwan battalions. The units located there contained underground living rooms and a rav amlah.
2: In the Ayta al-Sha'ab area, dozens of underground shafts, several rocket launchers and more than 10 ammunition depots were destroyed. Tunnels which were 20-25 meters deep were found there, which go into the mountain and reach as far as the village of Ayta al-Sha'ab itself.
3. An operation was conducted in the village of Miss Al Jabal for several nights to locate an underground route. The fighters also entered the houses of the village itself. They found there an ammunition depot to equip an entire a company of Radwan fighters, and which was intended for preparations for the capture and occupy Israeli territory in the Galilee. They also located a 12-meter-deep shaft with an approach tunnel that reaches up to 30 meters from the border with Israel.
4. In Kfar Kila (opposite Metula), an underground tunnel was located, the shaft of which exits from a children's room inside a building. It took a long time for the forces to locate the tunnel under the children's bed. Inside the tunnel, they found enough weapons to outfit an entire company of Radwan fighters. In two houses in the village, large explosives were found a few meters away from the fence - intended to blow up and breach the wall in a surprise attack. In the tunnel, bags and equipment were located for the rapid arrival and equipping of Radwan forces.
The IDF says that these special operations were in preparation for the ground maneuver that started last night (Tuesday), the aim of which is to reach all those areas - in a much wider way - and to destroy the infrastructure that remains there. The IDF will also seal the underground tunnels, which it could not do before the ground operation commenced.