Inside the tunnel: UNIFIL finds hidden weapons in South Lebanon

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

The French army said in a post on X that the soldier shown was not inspecting a rocket launcher at a French base in Toulon, but rather seizing weapons south of the Litani River in Lebanon, following the discovery of a tunnel network and a significant weapons cache.

The news, accompanied by photos, was published in the final hours before the Lebanese government's second session on the U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s proposal, which advocates exclusive state control over all arms.

The timing of this military action — part of an operation France dubbed “KEMMEL 2” — was no coincidence. The French battalion currently operating under the UNIFIL umbrella has been stationed in Lebanon under the name “DAMAN” since 1978. 

The battalion is based in southern Lebanon, and its mission is to support the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and monitor the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

This marks the first time images have been released showing weapons being seized in southern Lebanon. While the French unit has not disclosed when the seizure occurred, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told LBCI that the operation took place in recent days.

So, what message was France trying to send with the release of these images?

From a security standpoint, Paris appears intent on signaling that its forces are not merely observing but are also actively engaged on the ground. Politically, the images suggest that unauthorized weapons are still being stockpiled south of the Litani — bolstering the U.S.-backed push for arms to be held solely by the Lebanese state.

The Lebanese government was preparing to engage in sensitive discussions regarding Hezbollah’s arsenal. The group has publicly rejected any talks on the issue unless three conditions are met: Israeli withdrawal, an end to assassinations, and the return of prisoners.