Netanyahu Says 'Border Tunnels' Operation to 'Continue as Long as Necessary'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that an operation launched by the Israeli army on Lebanon’s border to destroy suspected Hizbullah tunnels would continue “as long as necessary.”

Netanyahu said the alleged tunnels are aimed at “sending terrorists into northern Israel.”

Noting that the operation decision had been taken weeks ago, the Israeli premier described it as “a small part of a deployment operation on all fronts to defend Israel.”

"We are acting with determination to prevent Iran from being rooted in Syria... we are also acting against Iran's terrorist actions in Lebanon," he said.

Netanyahu said he would discuss the matter with world leaders in the coming days and that he was seeking an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss Hizbullah's "aggression."

An official from the so-called Axis of Resistance -- a grouping led by Iran and made up of Syrian officials, Iraqi Shiite militias, Hizbullah and other groups -- meanwhile said Hizbullah fighters were "on high alert to confront any possible Israeli aggression." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the group's military activities with the media.