In a move bound to test the limits of the fragile Washington-brokered regional ceasefire, Israel has unleashed massive ordinance on southern Lebanon, saying it has utterly destroyed a huge underground complex built and used by Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have freshly announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) completely demolished a massive Hezbollah underground fortress embedded deep beneath the southern Lebanese village of Majdal Zoun. The village itself was leveled, with the IDF having released footage showing an unusually strong explosion:
The military revealed the subterranean complex spanned roughly 200 meters and plunged more than 25 meters deep - serving as a critical hub where Hezbollah allegedly assembled, stored, as well as launched Iranian-sourced suicide drones.
Notably, Israel had previously postponed the demolition following intense pressure from the Trump administration to halt all kinetic activity in southern Lebanon. However, either Israel's patience just ran out, or else Washington is secretly still giving the greenlight to move against such infrastructure.
Ahead of the detonation, Netanyahu and Katz noted that Israel did provide a courtesy heads-up to the Trump administration and to US officials representative in Lebanon.
"Troops of the 551st Brigade Combat Team and Yahalom forces, under the command of the 91st Division, destroyed an underground route located in the village of Majdal Zoun, in the security zone in southern Lebanon," the IDF spokesperson announced.
A chief allegation is that "The compound was built using technology and knowledge from the Iranian terror regime," the IDF statement continued. Also, as cited in Reuters, "The Israeli statement said the tunnel contained hundreds of weapons and launchers."
While the IDF has yet to issue its official post-operation briefing, it took the unusual step of warning residents in northern Israel to expect a massive, earth-shaking blast.
The military had actually escorted journalists on a propaganda tour of the complex earlier this month to showcase the scale of the threat, amid the ongoing Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.
Despite the nominal ceasefire, Israel is clearly signaling that it will not tolerate a Hezbollah reconstruction phase on its border, also wishing to permanently secure a security 'buffer zone' to prevent Hezbollah missiles and drones from being fired into northern Israel, something which has been happening for years spanning back to the Gaza war.