IDF Seals Tebnit Tunnel, Trapping Dozens of Hezbollah Fighters as Hostage Fears Rise
Updated
Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Jun 24
IDF Seals Tebnit Tunnel, Trapping Dozens of Hezbollah Fighters as Hostage Fears Rise
3 articles · Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Jun 24
Summary
Israeli troops sealed the entrances to an underground complex in Tebnit, leaving dozens of Hezbollah fighters trapped as senior officials reviewed the standoff.
Israel told mediators the militants must surrender or be killed inside the tunnel system; under the current ceasefire framework, they can still give themselves up to the IDF.
Hostage concerns are driving the urgency, with Israeli forces warning that Hezbollah's Radwan Force could try to kidnap soldiers to bargain for the trapped men.
Ground troops have been ordered to move in pairs or groups of three and tighten air-ground coordination, while the military says many tunnel entrances in southern Lebanon are camouflaged and hard to detect.
Israeli officials are treating Tebnit as a potential pilot for dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure in the area, echoing a Rafah case in which trapped Hamas operatives eventually emerged to fight or surrender.