Israel preparing for ‘tunnel warfare’ with Hezbollah and Hamas

"The method, which has been developed since the Second Lebanon War (33-day Lebanon war) and Operation Cast Lead (22-day Gaza war), is meant to combat the underground tunnel systems used by Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip," said Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Wednesday.

The daily added that the Israeli military believes that the Hezbollah resistance movement has "dozens of underground bases" from which it controls its operations.

The report added that the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas also is running dozens of "combat tunnels" connecting homes in Gaza Strip.

Underground tunnel systems are used in the Gaza strip for transferring goods to the besieged Palestinians in the coastal strip.

Israeli troops also regularly take part in military exercises in a tunnel system designed to simulate those used by what Tel Aviv claims terror organizations.

The exercises come as Israel is ratcheting up the war rhetoric against other countries. The Israeli army was defeated when it waged a 22-day-war on the Gaza Strip back in 2009. This came after a humiliating defeat in a 33-day war with Hezbollah shattered its façade of invincibility in 2006.