IDF says it found Hezbollah tunnel built beneath south Lebanon church

The IDF says it has uncovered a Hezbollah tunnel that was built underneath a church in the southern Lebanon town of Khiam.

During scans conducted by the Givati Brigade in Khiam, troops located “an underground route that had been established in the church area,” the military says.

The IDF says the site had been used by Hezbollah in the past, noting that in December 2024, troops had cleared the area of weapons and operatives.

During the latest scans of the church, troops located three new tunnel shafts that the army says had been built by Hezbollah amid the 2024-2026 ceasefire, “indicating the reactivation of the infrastructure in the area.”

“The renewed use of this area proves the recurring pattern of operation of the Hezbollah terror organization, in which it continues to cynically exploit the civilians of the State of Lebanon as human shields and systematically uses religious institutions and civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” the IDF says in a statement, adding that “the deliberate use of civilian religious institutions for military needs constitutes a violation of international law.”