Israeli army carries out massive explosions near Beaufort Castle in South Lebanon

The Israeli army said it carried out large-scale explosions near the historic Beaufort Castle area in South Lebanon overnight Thursday into Friday, destroying what it described as a network of tunnels in the area.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that the blasts produced an "unprecedented" shockwave heard across large parts of South Lebanon, shattering windows in several nearby towns.

An AFP correspondent in a neighboring village reported hearing powerful explosions during the night and observed a large cloud of white dust covering a wide area of woodland surrounding the site.

In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the army destroyed tunnels in the Shaqif area using approximately 700 tons of explosives.

The two officials said the operation was carried out in response to what they described as a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire by Hezbollah on Wednesday.

The Israeli military has not provided further details on the operation, while there was no immediate response from Hezbollah regarding the Israeli claims.