WarSclerotic

Israel’s operation to neutralize and destroy ‎Hezbollah tunnels snaking under the Israel-Lebanon ‎border stunned the Shiite terrorist group “beyond ‎measure,” Operation Northern Shield’s commander told ‎Israel Hayom Thursday.‎

Col. Meni Librati, commander of the IDF’s 769th ‎Brigade in whose sector the tunnel breaching the ‎northern town of Metula was found, told Israel Hayom ‎that “we started working on the tunnels full-speed ‎and we’re only accelerating the pace.” ‎

The IDF is focusing its efforts north of the Metula ‎tunnel, he said, adding that “I want to accelerate the ‎pace‎ as much as I can and I have the opportunity and ‎resources to do it. Every tunnel has its own ‎construction logic. When we’re done, we’ll be able ‎to explain everything.”‎

According to Librati, every time a new tunnel is ‎discovered and mapped out, the IDF reassesses the ‎situation ahead of its future destruction, which is ‎one of the reasons Operation Northern Shield is ‎expected to take several weeks. ‎

‎”Each stage in this operation is challenging and ‎each stage poses its own set of challenges, but I ‎can’t see anything too dramatic take place when we ‎reach the destruction stage,” he said. ‎

Despite the stormy weather, which he said has little ‎effect on the operations (“We have the necessary ‎measures to deal with it,” he says), the operation is ‎progressing as planned. ‎

‎”There are only a handful of tunnels here, and we are ‎following our plans. The pace of this operation is ‎very impressive, and once we have something to share ‎with the public, we will,” he said. ‎

He noted that the teams working on the tunnels “have ‎all the necessary means at their disposal. We are ‎sparing no effort to make sure Metula can resume its ‎routine as soon as possible.”‎

‎”We won’t breathe a sigh of relief until this ‎operation is done,” Librati said. “The challenge is ‎keeping the secret; preparing the troops for an ‎operational without having them figure out the ‎overall objective, especially when so many different ‎units are involved.” ‎

As for the timing of the operation, Librati said it ‎was the result of the proper intelligence, ‎technological and operations conditions presenting ‎themselves. ‎

Commenting on the speculation that Hezbollah would have ‎reserved using the tunnels until the next war with ‎Israel, he said that “this has led some to say that ‎we should have waited for a war, then bomb the ‎tunnels and surprise Hezbollah, but that’s an ‎arrogant statement by individuals who fail to ‎calculate all the risks. ‎

“There’s no need to take any unnecessary chances. ‎I’m not willing to gamble with the lives of ‎civilians or soldiers. Had we waited for another war ‎with Lebanon to destroy the tunnels, a few months ‎from now an Israeli patrol could have been hit by a ‎roadside bomb and the tunnel would blow up. Biding ‎your time in a situation like this is a gamble and a ‎risk. We had to deal with the tunnels now so that we ‎are not the ones caught off guard.”‎

Operation Northern Shield, launched on Tuesday, ‎‎”caught Hezbollah by complete surprise. Their shock ‎and embarrassment were beyond measure. The IDF’s ‎ability to keep such an operation a secret until we ‎got the go-ahead, and then swoop in with full force ‎and strip Hezbollah of such as important asset – ‎that’s very impressive.”‎

Still, Librati warned against complacency, saying, ‎‎”This is a complex operation waged in a highly ‎volatile region opposite a formidable enemy. We ‎always have to make sure we’re one step ahead of the ‎enemy.”‎

The public, he said, “has to trust us. This ‎operation involved the Israeli Air Force, Military ‎Intelligence, the Northern Command, the Commando ‎Bridge and the special combat engineering unit. ‎We’re on high alert and if need be, we’ll bolster ‎deployment further.” ‎