Israel Matzav

Hezbullah building bunkers under UNIFIL's feet

The Times of London is reporting this morning that Hezbullah is building bunkers underneath the feet of UNIFIL forces stationed in Lebanon. To readers of this blog, the story should be nothing new. The Times even quotes the same source I quoted last week: former Defense Minister and current Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz. What is new is the detail in the Times story:

Hezbollah, which was forced to move away from the border as part of last August’s ceasefire deal, has returned by stealth. “Since the Israeli forces left, Hezbollah has been building formidable military underground posts under the noses of the UN,” said an Israeli intelligence officer.

Before last summer’s war in Lebanon Hezbollah had more than 20 positions along the border. All were destroyed by the Israelis, who also killed several hundred fighters.

Soon after the ceasefire agreement Hezbollah began to rebuild its positions in Shi’ite villages close to the Israeli border.

“The entrance to an underground post is usually in the backgarden of a Hezbollah supporter,” said one source. “The householder receives compensation for the use of his garden.” [And if the IDF hits the entrance, it gets attacked by the world media for hitting a 'civilian target.' CiJ]

Modern equipment is used to sink the shafts, sometimes as deep as 70ft. Some bunkers are as wide as a football field, others can hold fewer than 10 fighters. [And somehow UNIFIL has 'missed' these bunkers being dug in with that kind of 'modern equipment.' Maybe they dug them all at night? CiJ]

They are equipped with sophisticated communications equipment and many are believed to be connected by tunnels, limiting Israel’s ability to destroy them from the air.

This is in addition to a phenomenon I have reported in the past: Hezbullah bunkers being built north of the Litani River, outside of the UNIFIL zone.

So far, the Olmert-PeretzAyalon/Barak-Livni government is continuing to fiddle, but according to the Times of London, at some point they may have to react:

Israeli military intelligence sources say there is particular concern over long-range Fatah-110 rockets that have been supplied to Hezbollah.

This rocket, with a 125-mile range and a 500lb warhead, is an improved version of a Chinese assault rocket, said Uzi Rubin, an Israeli missile expert. These rockets could reach Tel Aviv if hostilities resume.

And Tel Aviv, as we all know, is in my backyard.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:43 AM