IDF captures Hezbollah drone factory and launch site hidden inside south Lebanon mountain |
MAJDAL ZOUN, Lebanon — Buried beneath a hilltop village in southern Lebanon, just kilometers from the Israeli border, the Hezbollah terror group built an underground drone “airbase” from which it launched Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles at Israel.
The subterranean facility, guarded by massive steel blast doors, was built in the past decade with direct Iranian assistance, including planning and funding, Israeli military officials told The Times of Israel during an organized media tour of the site last week.
Journalists were brought into Lebanon at dusk, so that the visit to the tunnel would take place under the cover of darkness — an attempt by the military to mitigate the possibility of Hezbollah attacks on members of the press.
As the sun set over the Mediterranean, reporters were driven in a convoy of Humvees along the Lebanese coast before heading east toward Majdal Zoun, some six kilometers (3.7 miles) from the Israeli frontier.
With just the moonlight and glowsticks to illuminate the way, soldiers led the group to the tunnel’s main entrance, which was accessible from the ground level on the north side of the mountain.
The tunnel and surrounding area, which was delineated as part of the southern Lebanon security zone buffer area in an updated IDF map Thursday, were captured this month by a reservist commando and paratroopers formation.
The operation took place amid a porous ceasefire in which both Israel and Hezbollah have continued to attack each other.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the tunnel runs several hundred meters into the mountain, reaching depths of........