Israel says it has destroyed tunnels and weapons depots in Lebanon

Israeli ground troops have destroyed further tunnels belonging to the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia and weapons depots in southern Lebanon, the army said on Saturday.

The targets are embedded in mountainous, densely built areas filled with explosive traps, it said. Weapons and ammunition are often hidden in residential houses.

During underground combat operations, tunnel systems were detonated, which Hezbollah terrorists had used to approach the border with Israel, the army said.

The reports could not be independently verified.

Hezbollah has been attacking Israel with missiles since the October 7 attacks by the Palestinian militant organization Hamas and other extremist groups, out of "solidarity" with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Iran-backed militia says.

The attacks will continue until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, Hezbollah has vowed.

The Israeli government wants to drive the militia out of southern Lebanon so that the approximately 60,000 residents evacuated from northern Israel can return to their homes.