Security Officials Reject Any Non-U.S.-Israeli Mechanism for Southern Lebanon

Israeli security officials said overnight Monday that they oppose any proposed international arrangement in southern Lebanon unless it is a U.S.-Israeli military mechanism that would scan the area and destroy terror infrastructure. A senior security source said, “Otherwise it will not happen,” adding that the prime minister and defense minister have made clear Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon while terror infrastructure and militants remain in the area, there is no demilitarization, and the northern communities are still directly threatened.

The same official said the Israel Defense Forces have not yet finished locating and destroying additional large terror facilities in Hezbollah’s “sanctuary cities.” In recent days, Northern Command officers praised Military Intelligence for its major role in uncovering the locations and scale of those underground sites in southern Lebanon, which were built over about 20 years.

According to the report, Iranian engineers and Hezbollah contractors constructed subterranean systems 20 to 30 meters deep, and in some places deeper. These complexes reportedly include living quarters, weapons depots, launch sites, command rooms, and headquarters, all designed to withstand airstrikes.

Against the backdrop of negotiations between Israel and the Lebanese government, and separately between the United States and Iran, Hezbollah is trying to insert itself into the process to prevent continued Israeli maneuvering deep inside Lebanon, including the destruction of the sanctuary cities and other terror infrastructure. At the same time, Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder and Operations Directorate head Maj. Gen. Itzik Cohen are insisting that the army continue reaching all major terror sites in southern Lebanon.