Syria/Lebanon border

Israeli army destroys weapons tunnel

The Syrian-Lebanese border crossing Masnaa

(Bild: AP/Samer Husseini)

According to the Israeli army, it has destroyed a three and a half kilometer long weapons tunnel under the Syrian-Lebanese border. Fighter planes had bombed it, the military announced on Friday.

The tunnel was so spacious that large quantities of weapons could be smuggled through it. It had also served as a storage room for war material, it said. The commander of Hezbollah unit 4400, which was responsible for smuggling weapons, Mohammed Jafar Katsir, had already been killed in recent days.

According to the Lebanese army, there was an Israeli attack at the Masnaa border crossing on Friday morning. The road to Syria, which is important for refugees, was hit and the border crossing closed. As a result, people continued on foot towards Syria.

Displaced people at the Masnaa border crossing

(Bild: AP/Samer Husseini)

Air attack on Beirut

(Bild: AFP/APA)

Attack on Tyre in Lebanon

(Bild: AFP/Kawnat Haju)

250 Hezbollah members killed
According to Israeli reports, around 250 Hezbollah members have been killed since the start of the offensive in Lebanon. These include around five battalion commanders and other commanders of the Iranian-backed militia. In the past 24 hours alone, 100 members have been killed in close combat and air strikes, the Israeli army said.

Since the ground offensive in Lebanon on Tuesday, eight Israeli forces have lost their lives. On Friday night, the capital Beirut was again heavily bombed. According to unconfirmed reports, the airstrike targeted Hashim Safi al-Din, head of the executive council of the Hezbollah militia. He is considered to be the candidate of the recently killed Hezbollah leader Nasrallah.