UNIFIL to send team to Israel to ‘ascertain the facts’ about anti-tunnel operation

Israel, Lebanon and the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL held a trilateral meeting at the Rosh Hanikra border crossing earlier today to discuss the Israeli military’s newly launched operation to uncover and destroy cross-border Hezbollah attack tunnels, UNIFIL says.

The meeting was scheduled well before the start of the operation, but provided an opportunity for the Israel Defense Forces to present information about its operation, dubbed Northern Shield.

UNIFIL says it is deploying a “technical team” to Israel tomorrow in order to “ascertain the facts” about Israel’s activities around the border area.

The Israeli military refuses to comment on what details were shared at the meeting.

Earlier today, a Lebanese government official says Israel has not provided the country, whose parliament includes Hezbollah’s political party, with its intelligence proving the existence and locations of the Hezbollah tunnels.

UNIFIL is tasked with enforcing UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War and required Hezbollah and all other armed groups besides the Lebanese military to remain north of the country’s Litani River — something Israel says the UN peacekeeping force fails to do.

— Judah Ari Gross