Footage obtained by ynet reveals Hezbollah terrorists, children dressed as fighters, weapons stored inside homes and religious sites, and tunnel shafts in populated areas of southern Lebanon.
Most of the material was found last week by troops from the IDF’s elite Yahalom combat engineering unit and paratroopers operating in the area of Mays al-Jabal.
IDF troops uncover Hezbollah footage, weapons and tunnel shafts in southern Lebanon homes
(Video: IDF)
A soldier in Yahalom’s bomb disposal company told ynet the troops found extensive weapons and documentation during the operation.
“We went out on an operation under the Bislamach brigade combat team and found a lot of weapons, as well as a large amount of photography equipment and cameras with pictures,” he said. “Among the pictures were terrorists and children dressed like them. We saw photos of many terrorists sitting together in a meeting, all armed, talking among themselves.”
“In other pictures, we saw the terrorists holding weapons or displaying them in front of the camera,” he added. “In other photos, we saw the border fence and routes where military vehicles pass. We identified Manara through the photos. You can see residents’ homes on the Israeli side. I assume the terrorist who took the pictures climbed to a good vantage point to capture them.”
The soldier said the troops immediately understood the intelligence value of what they had found.
“We understood the significance of what we found, also from an intelligence perspective,” he said. “We took everything out and passed it to the relevant commanders. It strengthened the awareness that the enemy is watching us and preparing against us. It reinforced the feeling that we are operating in a combat zone.”
Alongside the footage, the soldier described weapons found in residential yards.
“In the yard of a house with a direct view of Misgav Am, we found Kornet anti-tank missile launchers, without the missile itself, only what was left of it,” he said. “We understood they had fired from there at the community.”
Throughout the campaign in Lebanon, he said, troops have felt Hezbollah constantly observing and studying Israeli forces.
“It feels like the terrorists are watching us all the time and learning us,” he said. “They are finding new ways to overcome the new weapons we have, like their fiber-optic suicide drones.”
According to the soldier, the drones can carry explosives for up to 15 kilometers and detonate once they identify a target, whether a tank, armored vehicle or soldiers.
“That is how we lost a soldier this week,” he said. “In the past, we could jam the drones, but now Hezbollah is operating fiber-optic drones, which cannot be jammed. Two weeks ago, I had an incident in which one of my soldiers saw the fiber, managed to cut it and brought the drone down. But it is a tiny fiber, hard to see, especially at night. We will find ways to solve that too.”
He said Hezbollah is also trying to stay one step ahead in the field of explosive devices.
“We have recently seen many crude activations,” he said. “The terrorists pull a thin wire from a distance, something that looks like fishing line, connected to a pin that triggers the explosive charge. They create complex scenes with many elements.”
Asked about operations under the current ceasefire, the soldier said the fighting has not stopped.
“We are also learning all the time and using newer and better tools,” he said. “There is a bit of calm with the ceasefire, but the fighting has not stopped at all. There is intense combat along the yellow line. There are fewer deep missions and more demolition raids. We are still finding huge amounts of weapons every day, in every house, in every village. Crazy things.”
The soldier said the prolonged fighting in the northern sector carries constant danger, but also a clear sense of purpose.
“On one hand, we feel the danger very strongly,” he said. “Almost every moment we are threatened by anti-tank fire, snipers or suicide drones. It is a continuous feeling of combat.”
“But our purpose here, finding weapons and eliminating terrorists, going house to house and seeing how many homes we have already cleared and secured, is an incredible feeling,” he added. “When you are here in the north and see the Israeli communities from inside Lebanese homes, it proves to us why we are here. It is what pushes us most to keep working.”
He said northern residents have expressed gratitude to the troops.
“There is enormous meaning in the fact that there is now a ground force inside this area, taking away their ability to climb into positions and fire wherever they want, to threaten residents of the north,” he said.