Israel Matzav

IDF uncovers massive Hezbullah bunker just north of Rosh HaNikra

The IDF has uncovered a massive Hezbullah bunker, some 400 meters north of the security fence at Rosh HaNikra, on the Mediterranean, just a "stone's throw" from a UNIFIL outpost. Did UNIFIL know about it? No one is even asking the question.

The bunker is two kilometers long and forty meters wide. The IDF spent all of Saturday night blowing it up. Here are some more details:

According to Lt.-Col. Jassem Elian, a senior officer in the Golani Brigade, "Hizbullah dug a 40-meter by two-kilometer pit, in which they built dozens of outposts."

Elian added that the bunker had "shooting positions of poured concrete," and that the combat posts inside were equipped with phone lines, showers, toilets, air ducts, and emergency exits, as well as logistical paraphernalia for Hizbullah.

A Golani officer told the Jerusalem Post that among the force's findings was a Katyusha rocket launcher, most likely used in rocket attacks against northern Israel during the war.

He also mentioned that Golani forces had initiated the move to uncover the bunker after the same battalion, in an earlier operation, had discovered maps specifying certain areas where Hizbullah had planned such tunnels in south Lebanon.

The IDF blasts caused concern among nearby residents, who thought the loud explosions were rocket fire.

HaAretz adds:

According to Elian, the network was not visible from the air, nor from ground-level observation posts.

"You can't see it until you're 10-15 meters from the site," he said. He estimated that the position was abandoned hastily when fighting began.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:02 AM