After Hizbullah Releases Video Of Its Massive Tunnels, Lebanese Politicians, Journalists Slam The Organization: It Is Placing Lebanon And Its People In Existential Danger

On August 16, 2024, as part of its threats to retaliate for Israel's assassination of its most senior military commander, Fuad Shukr, aka Al-Hajj Mohsen,[1] Hizbullah released a video showing an underground military facility known as Imad 4. The video indicates that the facility – named after Hizbullah's slain military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed by Israel in 2008 –includes massive underground tunnels, large enough to accommodate trucks, and rocket launchers that can emerge to the surface.

Following the release of the video, Lebanese politicians and journalists criticized Hizbullah, claiming that its tunnels and rocket facilities endanger the lives of the Lebanese and even put the country itself in existential danger, since the organization's actions may draw Lebanon into a widescale, destructive war with Israel. Hizbullah, they said, has transformed Lebanon from a life-loving country that bridged East and West into a "death tunnel" in the service of Iran, and created a situation whereby Lebanon no longer exists as a state, for it is exclusively controlled by Hizbullah.

It should be noted that, from the very first days of the war in Gaza, many Lebanese politicians, journalists and Christian clerics warned that Hizbullah was dragging the country into war to serve the interests of Iran and Hamas while endangering the lives of the Lebanese. Some also called for peace with Israel.[2]

To view a MEMRI TV clip of Hizbullah's Imad 4 facility, click below:

This report reviews the criticism voiced in Lebanon against Hizbullah following the release of the video.

Lebanese Politician: Hizbullah Has Transformed Lebanon From A Bridge To Life Into A Tunnel Of Death

On August 16, 2024, following the release of the video of the Imad 4 facility, Charles Jabbour, a senior official in Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces party, posted on his X account: "Hizbullah has transformed Lebanon from a bridge [connecting] East and West into a dark tunnel for the Iranian death weapons. From now on, no Lebanese can agree to live inside dark tunnels. [Oh Hizbullah,] you have your tunnels and we have our bridges to life and civilization. The situation after [the exposure of] this tunnel will be different from what went before. The situation after the war [that broke out on] October 8 [when Hizbullah joined the fighting against Israel, one day after Hamas' Al-Aqsa Flood operation] will be different from what went before. We have the peaks [of the mountains of Lebanon] and you have the tunnels."[3]

Charles Jabbour's X post

Lebanese Politician: The Resistance Factions Hide In Tunnels While The People Are Being Killed

Georges E. Hayek, a member of the Lebanese Forces' Central Council, wrote on X: "The tunnel-war strategy adopted by the resistance factions, such as Hamas, Hizbullah and perhaps also the Houthis, reflects their contempt for the lives of the peoples among whom they live. The fighters hide in the tunnels and protect themselves, while the people are killed and their sources of livelihood are destroyed along with their property and the country's public facilities. Is this not what happened [in Lebanon] in the 2006 war and is currently happening in Gaza? Enough! We've had enough!"[4]

Georges E. Hayek's post

Lebanese Journalist: Hizbullah's Videos Will Kill The Lebanese People

Lebanese journalist and philosopher Makram Rabbah[5] called on Hizbullah to build shelters for the people of South Lebanon instead of excavating tunnels, and claimed that the videos it has released – hinting at the video of the Imad 4 facility – only endanger the Lebanese. After saying this on the Voice of Lebanon radio station, he reiterated his position on his X account, writing: "…Hizbullah's mission is to kill the Lebanese people… It should have built shelters for the people of South [Lebanon] instead of excavating tunnels. The problem with Hizbullah is that its ideology and agenda are connected to [Iran's] Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC]… The mission of Iran's proxies is to take the battle beyond its borders and besiege the Israeli interests on [Iran's] behalf… Hizbullah is an important part of the war council [sic] and of the IRGC. The danger it poses lies in the fact that it is the brains behind the armed campaign in the region. The videos it releases provide Israel with more excuses to murder the Lebanese people… Lebanon as a concept no long exists, for it is being held hostage by a political system that seeks refuge behind Hizbullah's weapons."[6]

Lebanese Journalist: Hizbullah's Rockets And Tunnels Place Lebanon In Existential Danger

Lebanese journalist Hajar Knio wrote on X that Hizbullah's tunnels and rockets have placed Lebanon in existential danger: "From Beirut to Damascus, from Al-Naqoura to Tripoli – Lebanon is in danger of immediately disappearing due to the rocket facilities established by Hizbullah in tunnels under its soil. Farewell, State of Lebanon!..."[7]

Lebanese Journalist: The Lebanese Regime Has Collapsed; Only Protest By Millions Calling For Peace Will Save The Country From Hizbullah

In his column in the Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Lebanese journalist Sam Mansa wrote that the exposure of Hizbullah's underground missile facility proves that this organization has become the exclusive ruler of Lebanon due to the disfunction of the Lebanese government. He added that only mass protests against Hizbullah in Lebanon can save the country.

Mansa wrote: "[The exposure of Hizbullah's tunnels] is neither surprising nor shocking, since they have been a fundamental part of Hizbullah's policy of strengthening itself [militarily] for decades. This makes it clear that [Hizbullah] operates independently and has become the sole ruler of the state and the people… Tunnels of this size – which may exist in more than one area – are clear proof that [Hizbullah is] an occupying force that can extend its influence across different parts [of the country], perhaps even beyond the south. This is a result of the collapse of the [Lebanese] regime and of [the fact that] some parts of it conspire with [Hizbullah]… As for official Lebanon, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, since the concept of the state collapsed, Lebanon [has become] nothing more than a geographical region, exclusively [controlled by] Hizbullah…

"But the greatest danger [to Lebanon] lies in the fact that there is almost no popular response, since we have seen no gatherings, demonstrations or strikes in protest of [Hizbullah's] actions… Life in this country goes on, and there are plenty of shows and festivals…

"No force can prevent a million Lebanese from holding candles every night in [Beirut's] Al-Shuhada Square and demanding peace for Lebanon, nothing more and nothing less, instead of attending the various celebrations and festivals by the thousands. Only millions of candles can attempt [to extract Lebanon] from [Hizbullah's] new tunnels and from the old tunnel which it entered and has never exited."[8]