The IDF announced Friday the discovery of underground Hezbollah infrastructure within a church compound in Lebanon in the area of Al-Khiyam while conducting ground operations in the vicinity. Troops conducting searches of the area reportedly found a tunnel shaft and underground structures associated with Hezbollah military activity within and beneath the church and the church compound.

The IDF suggested this wasn’t a surprise, as they had found the infrastructure in December 2024 and cleared it of all weapons back then. Hezbollah has been reportedly using this combat zone for military activity, which means they restored the infrastructure for use in their military operations.

The military said that in the current operation, it found clear evidence of renewed use of the site for military activity with the discovery of three new shafts that had been constructed during the ceasefire. The IDF said this showcases Hezbollah’s cynical exploitation of the civilian population, using civilians and religious institutions as human shields to conceal their terrorist activities, a method they engaged in repeatedly at this site.

“The deliberate use of civilian religious institutions for military purposes constitutes a violation of international law,” the IDF warned in its statement regarding this issue.

The IDF stressed that its operations in the area were conducted based on precise intelligence that showed that Hezbollah was active in the area and was engaging in military activity there.