More critical context to Israel's war against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon that the mainstream media seems to almost completely ignore in their reporting.
The extent of Hezbollah infrastructure in areas within 10km of the Israeli border is nothing short of extraordinary.
The IDF reveals a major Hezbollah tunnel system near the Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, which it says was constructed with direct Iranian assistance.
According to the military, the main reason for its raid on the Beaufort Castle area was to capture and demolish the underground site, as well as to prevent Hezbollah from carrying out rocket attacks on Israel from the area.
"The IDF launched operations in the Beaufort area to achieve operational control over the area, which constitutes a threat to Israeli civilians, and to enable the destruction of the tunnel network," the military says.
The IDF says the tunnel was "built in a civilian area, in a location that enables operational control over the Galilee Panhandle region, only six kilometers from Metula, and served as Hezbollah's center in the area."
Troops are now working to destroy the "major Hezbollah underground infrastructure site in the Beaufort Ridge area," IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a video statement.
"This is an underground network consisting of several levels excavated deep into the rocky ground. The entire network was built with full funding and planning by the Iranian terror regime over more than a decade," he says.
Defrin says the underground site served Hezbollah as a "significant command-and-control center, where hundreds of Hezbollah operatives were stationed."
The Hezbollah operatives managed the fighting from the underground site, including during the current war, but fled when the IDF launched its operation, he says.
"We planned the operation for a long time and waited for the appropriate operational opportunity to carry it out. The complex was struck from the air several times, and now, through a ground operation, we are working to destroy it," Defrin says.
The military says the tunnel featured water and electricity infrastructure, anti-tank and anti-aircraft capabilities, and numerous rooms, including several living quarters, showers, restrooms, an operating room, and kitchens.
Hezbollah also stored weapons at the underground site, with the IDF reporting that it found a room with anti-tank missiles, a launcher, and other military equipment.
According to the IDF, Hezbollah launched over 400 rockets from the area at northern Israel during the current fighting, as well as drones, shoulder-launched missiles, and anti-tank missiles at troops.
The IDF says that the underground site was constructed "in an area where the Lebanese army operates."
"As part of efforts to enforce the agreement between Israel and Lebanon, a request was submitted to the Lebanese army to address the site, but Hezbollah clearly prevented it from doing so," the military adds.
The irony is difficult to ignore: a Jewish woman was required to remove a visible symbol of her identity in order to attend a trial concerning the exclusion of Jews.
A German Jewish woman was forced to remove her Star of David necklace before being allowed to enter a courtroom in Flensburg to observe the trial of a man accused of displaying a sign reading “Jews are not allowed to enter this place.”
While the defendant was rightly convicted of incitement to hatred, this incident raises serious questions about the extent to which Jews in Europe can openly and confidently express their identity in public spaces.
No one should be asked to conceal their Jewish identity in order to access a court of law. https://t.co/jAcb9bkirG
Such a rapid turnaround hasn’t been seen for a long time:
At the beginning of the week, Slovenia prevented an Israeli plane from landing in its territory.
Yesterday, a new right‑wing government was sworn in.
And this evening, Foreign Minister Saar already announced the opening of an embassy in the country.