WarSclerotic

The United States “strongly supports Israel’s efforts to defend its soverignty,” US National Security Advisor John Bolton wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

“More broadly, we call on Iran and all of its agents to stop their regional agresssion and provocation, which pose an unacceptable threat to Israeli and regional security,” he also wrote.

Israel launched Operation Northern Shield to expose and neutralize Hezbollah tunnels earlier in the day.

The objective of the operation is to expose and neutralize all Hezbollah attack tunnels which have crossed into Israeli territory. The operation will take place all along the “Blue Line,” the name for the international border between Israel and Lebanon and strictly within Israeli territory.

The IDF destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel that penetrated into Israeli territory south of the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced in a statement.

The operation will be led by Strick and will include troops from the Combat Engineering Corps, the Intelligence Branch, as well as the Defense Ministry’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (MAFAT) will take part.

Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.