Lebanese-based terrorist group Hezbollah on Tuesday mocked the Israeli operation working to neutralize its grid of terror tunnels, saying the IDF is "trying to quell public panic with cement mixers."
Operation Northern Shield, launched on Dec. 4, aims to detect and destroy underground passageways dug by the Shiite terrorist group under the Israel-Lebanon border. So far, four large tunnels have been detected and operations to seal them off are ongoing.
The IDF said the operation was open-ended and stressed that it was being conducted solely on the Israeli side of the border.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that as long as the operation remains confined to the Israeli side, there is no reason for it to trigger a security escalation on the border.
Hezbollah has remained silent since the operation began, but on Tuesday, its information office published a statement on the Iranian sponsored Al-Aalam Al-Arabi TV channel.
"The Zionist occupation army has so far used 190 cement mixers to pour hundreds of tons of concrete with aim of sealing tunnels along the border," the statement said.
"The enemy is doing this to try and quell public panic and the fear felt among its military commanders over reports saying the tunnels reach Israeli territory."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet toured the northern sector on Tuesday and observed the IDF's work.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick and several other senior officers briefed them on the progress of Operation Northern Shield.
"We are here in the Northern Command on a cabinet tour. The IDF briefed us on the actions taken to neutralize the tunnels. This operation is mostly behind us," Netanyahu said.
He lauded the "exceptional work done here to deny Hezbollah the tunnels weapon – it has invested greatly in this project and we have destroyed it."
