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IDF troops have uncovered caches of Hezbollah weapons steps away from United Nations posts in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli military.
Kalashnikov rifles, RPG launchers and rockets were among the weapons found during operations over the past two weeks by the Oded (9th) Brigade Combat Team in the area of the Meiss El Jabal municipality, the IDF said.
Troops found the illicit weaponry in two separate locations – one a civilian residence about 200 metres from a UN post, and the other a storage facility about 100m from a post of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), the military annoucned.
The illicit stockpiles were found “alongside humanitarian aid boxes and emblems of the Amal and Hezbollah terrorist organisations,” the IDF said in a statement.
Separately, members of the Kfir Brigade Combat Team discovered a flat that Hezbollah were using for military purposes about 250m from a UN post, according to the IDF. Inside, they were said to have found surveillance equipment, combat gear, living supplies, and emblems of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation.
Israel has long criticised Unifil for failing to act as peacekeepers in the region.
“This is further evidence that the Unifil force has failed in its mission, and of the cynical exploitation by terrorist organisations in the face of Unifil's inaction,” the IDF statement said.
Unifil confirmed last week that it will begin withdrawing its forces at the end of this year, despite calls from Beirut for it to remain.
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