Operation Northern Shield

Operation Northern Shield
Part of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and the Hezbollah–Israel conflict
TypeMilitary operation
Location
Israel Northern District, Israel
Planned by Israel Defense Forces
TargetHezbollah tunnels
Date4 December 2018 (2018-12-04) – 13 January 2019[1]
Executed by
Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick, commander of the Northern Command of the IDF
Brig. Gen. Ilan Sabag [he], commander of the Combat Engineering Corps of the IDF
Maj. Gen. Tamir Hayman, commander of the Military Intelligence Directorate of the IDF

Operation Northern Shield (Hebrew: מבצע מגן צפוני, romanized: Mivtza Magen Tzfoni) was an Israeli military operation that took place from 4 December 2018 until 13 January 2019. The operation's declared goal was to locate and destroy Hezbollah tunnels[2] that cross the Blue Line from Lebanon into northern Israel.[3][4] According to Israel, this operation is part of the ongoing Iran–Israel proxy conflict.[5] On 17 December 2018, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) acknowledged the existence of four tunnels near the Israel–Lebanon border and confirmed that two of them cross the Blue Line in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which helped end the 2006 Lebanon War.[6]

  1. ^ Gross, Judah Ari (13 January 2019). "Finding '6th, biggest and last' Hezbollah tunnel, IDF ends Northern Shield op". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Israel targets Hezbollah 'terror tunnels'". BBC News. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  3. ^ Carey, Andrew; Liebermann, Oren; Wedeman, Ben; Schwartz, Michael (4 December 2018). "Israel begins operation to 'expose and thwart' Hezbollah tunnels". CNN. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. ^ Oster, Marcy (4 December 2018). "Israel launches operation to destroy Hezbollah tunnels on northern border". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  5. ^ Morris, Loveday; Eglash, Ruth (4 December 2018). "Israel announces operation to destroy Hezbollah tunnels under its northern border". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 December 2018. Netanyahu said Lebanon would be held responsible for "all terror activity" emanating from its territory and urged the U.N. Security Council and countries around the world to condemn the group's actions. Israel would defend itself against Iran's attempts to entrench itself in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, he said.
  6. ^ Keinon, Herb (17 December 2018). "U.N. mission in Lebanon confirms Hezbollah tunnels crossed Israel border". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 5 June 2019.