From the Lebanese side of the border, equipment can be seen in Israel drilling into the earth. The type of work being done is out of the ordinary for what usually occurs on the Israeli side of the border.
Central Media, a publisher for Hezbollah, stated on Tuesday; “At 10:30 this morning, Tuesday 21-01-2020, the Israeli enemy, through a civilian company, began the drilling work at the border numbering 410 opposite the town of al Adaisah in southern Lebanon, amid a modest presence of military forces of the Israeli army.”
The drilling work Hezbollah observed was the installation of anti-tunnel sensors. This comes after the announcement made by the Israel Defense Forces on Sunday; “We have started deploying highly-sophisticated technical infrastructure along Israel’s border with Lebanon. These sensors will identify and prevent underground construction of attack tunnels into Israel by the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon.”
The installation of the anti-tunnel sensors comes a little over a year after Operation Northern Shield where the IDF exposed and neutralized several cross-border Hezbollah attack tunnels that originated from Lebanon.
Hezbollah has previously published many videos and photographs of the IDF’s activity at the border. During Operation Northern Shield, its media publisher, Central Media, kept a constant update about the movements of the IDF and its activity at the border.
The video and photographs published showed how Hezbollah is able to monitor the IDF’s movements. It also serves as a warning of how exposed IDF soldiers are to weapon fire, especially anti-tank guided missiles which Hezbollah has used extensively in Syria and in previous battles against the IDF.
In another example of Hezbollah’s observation of IDF activity at the border, a Merkava IV tank guards a position as work is being done at the security barrier.
The clear line of sight leaves it vulnerable to anti-tank fire. Although, the Merkava IV, is likely equipped with an Active Protection System called TROPHY, which protects it from anti-tank guided missile fire.
Hezbollah will likely continue its observation of IDF activity at the border. It has done so for many years to gather information and locate IDF positions near the border. The publication of Hezbollah’s observation of the anti-tunnel sensor installation is one example of a history of psychological warfare to let their enemy know their activity is being monitored.
