The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has released a map which shows the locations of close to 1,000 Hezbollah underground bunkers, intelligence monitoring sites, and munitions and ammo dumps scattered throughout 270 villages in south Lebanon, Xinhua reported.
The IDF said in a statement sent to Xinhua that many of the sites are purposely situated in and around "hospitals, private homes and schools," in order to exploit the army stated policy against opening fire on non-combatants.
Funded by Iran and Syria, which smuggles weaponry into Lebanon, Hezbollah "continues to acquire munitions and strengthen," the army said, adding that the Shiite Islamic group is in possession of some 40,000 rockets of various sizes "which can reach populations in the center of Israel in cities like Tel Aviv."
Last September, the army released video footage they said showed Hezbollah members transferring armaments from the site of a large explosion in the village of Al-Shahabiya near the border with Israel, to a mosque in a nearby village.
The IDF said that the group kept Lebanese Army and UNIFIL forces from approaching the area to investigate the source of the blast.
Hezbollah "has built as many as 550 bunkers in the southern Lebanon region," the IDF statement read, including "300 underground facilities and 100 storage units for munitions including rockets, missiles and other weapons."