The Israeli military said on 4 November it launched a military operation called Operation Northern Shield to “expose and thwart” cross-border tunnels discovered near border with Lebanon. In a statement, the army said that a tunnel was already exposed. Reportedly, it was dug by Lebanese group Hezbollah south of Lebanese town of Kafr Kela. “[The tunnel] did not pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in the surrounding area,” the statement said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hailed what he described as successes of the anti-tunnel operation saying “the operation’s goal is exposing and neutralizing terror tunnels from Lebanon”. Netanyahu added “Whoever tries to harm the State of Israel will pay a heavy price”. For his part, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun has reportedly asked his country’s security apparatuses to closely monitor the Israeli “digging works off the Lebanese territories”. Hezbollah has not yet commented on the Israeli claims.