World
Hezbollah relies on 'sophisticated' tunnel system backed by Iran, North Korea in fight against Israel
Despite Israel’s nearly one-year-long war with Hamas in Gaza after the Oct. 7 attacks, security experts continue to sound the alarm that Jerusalem’s greatest threat actually lies to the north in Lebanon, where Hezbollah has developed a sophisticated tunnel system.
Hezbollah, an Islamic terrorist organization that has long had the backing of Iran, has over the last two decades developed a network of tunnels that stretch more than 100 miles in cumulative length throughout southern Lebanon.
Though the existence of the tunnels has been known for decades, the significant role they play in arming Hezbollah has once again come to light during the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, where terrorists have not only relied on tunnels for operational rearmament and maneuvering capabilities but also to house hostages taken by Hamas nearly a year ago.
While it is estimated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have eradicated roughly 80% of Hamas’ tunnels, Hezbollah’s tunnels, which have largely remained untouched since the war in Gaza began, are believed to be far more sophisticated and “significantly larger,” according to a report by the Alma Research and Education Center, a nonprofit organization that researches Israeli security challenges along its northern border.
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A guided tour by the Israeli army on June 3, 2019, shows the interior of a tunnel under the Lebanese-Israeli border. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
Hezbollah is believed to have begun mining its tunnels after the Second Lebanon War in 2006 in close coordination between Iran and North Korea after Tehran reportedly derived “inspiration” from Pyongyang and the tunnels that it developed in the aftermath of the Korean War.
Iran deemed North Korea a “professional authority on the subject of tunneling” due to its experience in digging tunnels for military use when it attempted to drill tunnels across the Korean Demilitarized Zone in an attempt to militarily invade areas just north of Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
While the tunnels and their intended use were never realized by the authoritarian nation, two of the four neutralized tunnels uncovered were reportedly capable of accommodating up to 30,000 troops per hour along with armaments like armored personnel carriers, tanks and field artillery – an operational blueprint Hezbollah has turned to in its fight against Israel.
The report found that Hezbollah under the advisership of North Korea – a relationship that may have begun as far back as the 1980s – built two types of tunnels across southern Lebanon, “offensive tunnels and infrastructure tunnels.”
This image provided on Friday shows the comparison between tunnels dug by North Korea and Hezbollah. (Alma Research and Education Center)
The offensive tunnels were intended for similar operational use as North Korea’s, and at least six tunnels were discovered by IDF forces that led into Israeli territory during Operation Northern Shield, which began in December 2018.
Alma’s research found that some of Hezbollah’s tunnels are also capable of transporting ATVs, motorcycles and other “small vehicles,” though it did not specify the number of terrorists that they could accommodate.
The tunnels are equipped with “underground command and control rooms, weapons and supply depots, field clinics and specified designated shafts used to fire missiles of all types,” the report said, noting that arms like rockets, surface-to-surface missiles, anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft missiles can be fired from “shafts” in the tunnels. “These shafts are hidden and camouflaged and cannot be detected above ground.”
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The tunnels are believed to connect the capital of Beirut, where Hezbollah’s central headquarters is located and its logistical base in the Beqaa Valley near the Syrian border, to southern Lebanon.
This image provided on Friday lays out the areas where Hezbollah has infiltrated in Lebanon. (Alma Research and Education Center)
“We call this inter-regional tunnel network ‘Hezbollah’s Land of the Tunnels,’” the Alma report first released in 2021 detailed, noting the tunnel system is more akin to a “metro” of tunnels rather than one long tunnel.
The second series of tunnels Hezbollah mined, known as the infrastructure tunnels, form an underground network in and near southern Lebanese villages that establishes the first and second “lines of defense” against an Israeli invasion – a project of “enormous magnitude,” according to the Alma report.
One such tunnel is estimated to be nearly 28 miles long, prompting the question as to how the terrorist organization was able to get away with building such a sophisticated system without opposition from the Lebanese government.
Hezbollah terrorists take part in a training exercise in Aaramta village in southern Lebanon in May 2023. (AP/Hassan Ammar)
“Hezbollah does try to keep the locations, routes, internal structure, etc., of these tunnels a secret. [It] does this by expropriating territories, by preventing civilians from entering into certain areas and by taking advantage of [its] presence and influence in the government,” Boaz Shapira, a researcher with Alma, told Fox News Digital.
Shapira said Hezbollah not only has the support of roughly 40%-50% of the Lebanese population, it is “much better funded, organized, trained and armed” than the Lebanese government, army, police or even the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, which has a force of some 10,500 peacekeeping troops in Lebanon and that were put in place after the 2006 war.
Spanish U.N. peacekeepers stand on a hill overlooking the Lebanese border with Israel on Jan. 10, 2024.
Hezbollah’s cooperation with authoritarian nations like Iran and North Korea has long made it a major threat to Israel.
But its growing power within Lebanon has moved it to the top of the list when it comes to Israeli security threats, according to not only Shapira but also former IDF Major Gen. Yaakov Amidror.
“Lebanon’s government is too weak to counter Hezbollah,” Amidror told Fox News Digital. “Everything important is decided by Hezbollah, not by the government.”
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Hezbollah is believed to have as many as 50,000 terrorists and, according to Shapira, its sphere of influence has extended to nearly every branch of Lebanon’s security apparatus.
“Taking action against Hezbollah would be perceived as cooperation with Israel and basically as treason in Lebanon, and in the past year also against the Palestinians,” he said. “That means that no one in the army has any incentive for challenging Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah terror forces train in southern Lebanon close to the Israeli border. (AP/Hassan Ammar/File)
Shapira said demographics inside the once predominately Christian nation have shifted over the last several decades, and it now has a majority Muslim population – though the U.S. State Department analyzes the breakdown in Muslim populations in Lebanon as nearly equally divided between Shiite and Sunni groups.
“This trend is happening in the army as well. That means that almost every Shiite soldier in the army has a brother, cousin, friend that is a Hezbollah terrorist,” Shapira said.
Amidror, a distinguished fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America after serving as Israel’s former national security adviser to the prime minister and a 36-year veteran of the IDF, told Fox News Digital he believes Israel needs to take a proactive approach when it comes to countering Hezbollah.
Hezbollah fighters form a human barrier during the funeral procession for top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Aug. 1, 2024. (KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)
“We should initiate the war against Hezbollah,” he said, noting that the timing of its operation is the main variable that needs to be determined.
“It will not be an easy job. It will be a very, very devastating war for us and for Lebanon,” the retired major general said. “Remember that at least 50% of their missiles had been hidden within populated areas.
“The casualties will be huge, [a] devastating war for us and for them,” Amidror continued. “This is why it is so problematic to fight these organizations, because they are fighting from within their own population, [and their] targets are the Israeli population.
“When you fight from within civilians and your targets are civilians, it’s very complicated to fight it,” he added.
The Walt Disney Company’s live action “Moana” may be the No. 1 movie at the domestic box office, but it did not make a big splash in its first weekend in theaters.
The movie, which cost a reported $250 million to produce, earned just $43 million from ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Internationally, it earned $52 million from 50 markets, adding up to a $95 million global debut.
The studio bet big on “Moana,” one of its most popular franchises. The 2016 animated film is the most watched movie on Disney+. Its sequel, which was stitched together from a planned streaming series, made over $1 billion and scored a Thanksgiving record when it opened with $225 million in 2024. “Moana 2” was also released just 19 months ago.
This latest “Moana,” directed by Thomas Kail, brings Dwayne Johnson back as the demigod Maui and introduces Catherine Lagaʻaia as the adventuring Polynesian princess. Despite praise for Lagaʻaia, the film set sail on a wave of dismal reviews from critics for being essentially a shot-for-shot remake of the original.
What audiences say about “Moana”
It’s currently sitting at a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences, the majority of whom were women (66%), were less negative: According to PostTrak, 63% said they would “definitely” recommend the film to their friends. Parent reactions were even stronger, with 78% saying they would recommend it to other parents. It also got a promising A- CinemaScore.
Disney’s live action remakes of beloved animated films, new and old, have had their share of successes and disappointments. Some have made over $1 billion, including “Lilo & Stitch,” “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Others have floundered, most notably last year’s “Snow White,” which made only $205 million worldwide. “Moana” opened more on par with “Snow White” ($42.2 million).
Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, said “Moana’s” debut could also be a product of PG-rated oversaturation in the marketplace: Universal’s “Minions & Monsters” was in second place with $20.5 million and “Toy Story 5” was close behind in third place with $18.5 million.
“Families love going to the movies, but right now there are three of them,” Dergarabedian said. “That’s a lot of competition.”
PG-rated films outgrossed others in 2024 and 2025, so “Moana’s” performance may not be a case of “family movie fatigue,” he said, but simply shows there can be a ceiling. Families have to make a choice, and after four weekends, “Toy Story 5” is still going strong with a running global total of $879.1 million.
There also are signs that these movies might not sink or swim based on the opening weekend alone. Although “Minions & Monsters” opened below expectations over the Fourth of July holiday, it also had a modest 45% drop this weekend. Its running domestic total is currently sitting at $108.3 million.
Elsewhere at the box office, horror and history
The weekend’s other big new opener was definitely not PG: The R-rated horror “Evil Dead Burn,” a Warner Bros. release, opened in fourth place with $13.7 million. It’s a significant dip from the previous two films in the series, which both opened in the $25 million range.
Angel Studios’ George Washington movie “Young Washington” rounded out the top five films in its second weekend in theaters, with $6.4 million. Olivia Wilde’s chamber dramedy “The Invite” landed in sixth place in its first weekend in wide release, with $5.7 million from 1,610 theaters.
And though it has dropped out of the top 10 domestically, “Michael” has officially crossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, only the second film this year to do so after “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” It’s also now the highest grossing musical biopic of all time, a title previously held by “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The total domestic box office for the year is currently sitting just under $5.2 billion, up about 10.7% from this point last year. While both May and June were very strong — both generating over $1 billion in North America — July, Dergarabedian said, has faced some headwinds with a string of underperformers, including “Supergirl.” Things will likely pick up next week with the arrival of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” followed by “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” the weekend after.
“They could power a stronger August than July at the box office, which would be very unusual,” Dergarabedian said.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:
1. “Moana,” $43 million.
2. “Minions & Monsters,” $20.5 million.
3. “Toy Story 5,” $18.5 million.
4. “Evil Dead Burn,” $13.7 million.
5. “Young Washington,” $6.4 million.
6. “The Invite,” $5.7 million.
7. “Obsession,” $3.8 million.
8. “Supergirl,” $3.6 million.
9. “Disclosure Day,” $3.2 million.
10. “Backrooms,” $1.5 million.
Report exposes scale of alleged UK grooming gang scandal
Fox News host Will Cain reports on a bombshell UK inquiry detailing shocking alleged child sex exploitation by organized grooming gangs in 149 local authority areas. The report reveals crimes committed for decades, with an estimated 250,000 victims nationwide.
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New German crime figures and an expanding investigation into an alleged sexual exploitation of teenage girls near the Nuremberg, Germany, central railway station are intensifying a broader European battle over migration, integration and whether officials have been too reluctant to confront patterns of organized sexual abuse.
Germany recorded 751 cases categorized as group rapes in 2025, according to the federal government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by the opposition Alternative für Deutschland party. All parties represented in the Bundestag German federal parliament may submit formal questions requiring government responses, a key tool through which opposition lawmakers scrutinize federal policy.
Police identified 1,087 suspects in the cases, including 509 German citizens and 578 non-German nationals. Syrians were the largest foreign-national group, with 110 suspects, followed by Afghans with 64, Iraqis with 46 and Turks with 44.
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Two defendants hold folders in front of their faces while a defense attorney talks to one of them at a trial in Freiburg, Germany, July 23, 2020. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)
The government cautioned that “group rape” is not a separate criminal offense or standardized police category. Officials generated the figures by filtering recorded rape cases in which suspects were listed as not acting alone. The numbers represent suspects identified during police investigations, not people convicted in court.
The figures emerged as investigators in Nuremberg, Germany, pursued allegations that vulnerable girls were deliberately drawn into a network involving affection, gifts, narcotics and sexual exploitation.
Bavarian police said in May that men operating around the city’s main railway station allegedly approached girls from unstable or vulnerable backgrounds, initially offering them attention, clothing or cosmetics. Investigators said some were later given hard drugs, including crystal meth, and that their resulting dependency was allegedly exploited to obtain sexual acts or other “services.”
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Protesters gather before a party convention of Alternative for Germany, or AfD in Erfurt, Germany, July 4, 2026. (Ebrahim Noroozi/The Associated Press )
The investigation, known as EKO Kajal, has continued to expand. Police said Tuesday that 10 suspects were being held in pretrial detention in cases involving alleged sexual offenses against girls and young women and the distribution of drugs or medication to minors.
In the latest arrests, police alleged that a 21-year-old Syrian man raped two girls, ages 15 and 18, in a Nuremberg, Germany, apartment after they were given narcotics by a 40-year-old Syrian man. Both men were detained, but the accusations remain allegations and have not been adjudicated.
Emma Schubart, a research fellow at the London-based Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital that the Nuremberg allegations bear similarities to grooming-gang cases uncovered in Britain, where girls were plied with drugs and alcohol before being repeatedly abused by groups of men.
“It’s a severe failure in both countries,” Schubart said, arguing that the problem begins with insufficient screening and continues with inadequate integration after migrants arrive.
“The first step that both authorities in the U.K. and in Germany really are not doing is screening migrants effectively,” she said. “But then, once the migrants are already here, the integration policy is completely lacking.”
Schubart said the isolation of some immigrant communities can contribute to “ghettoization” and create environments in which criminal networks operate with limited scrutiny or cooperation with authorities.
She also challenged the argument that disparities in some sexual-offense statistics can be explained primarily by poverty.
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A supporter wearing a plastic policeman’s helmet and holding fake money criticizes the way the police dealt with the grooming gang scandal on Jan. 29, 2022, in Telford, England. (Martin Pope/Getty Images)
“Socioeconomic factors matter, but they absolutely do not fully explain the disparities,” Schubart said. “Native Germans from similar socioeconomic backgrounds absolutely do not show equivalent rates in group sexual offending.”
Schubart said she viewed the apparent intersection between drugs and sexual exploitation as an especially important parallel with Britain.
“In the U.K. and in Germany, it’s a very similar pattern where it’s basically drug trafficking that also involves sex trafficking,” she said. “These drug-trafficking networks and cells operate across the country, not just in those cities where we see the crimes playing out.”
Britain has spent years reckoning with grooming scandals in places such as Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford and Oxford, England, where official reviews found that police, social workers and local authorities repeatedly missed or ignored evidence that vulnerable children were being systematically abused.
Baroness Louise Casey’s national audit, published by the British government in June 2025, concluded that inconsistent definitions, incomplete records and failures to collect ethnicity data made it impossible to establish the full national scale of group-based child sexual exploitation. It nevertheless found evidence of the disproportionate representation of Pakistani-heritage suspects in some local datasets and cases, while warning against extrapolating those findings to the entire country.
The British government later backed an independent inquiry intended to examine failures or obstruction by police, councils and other public bodies in relevant local areas.
Schubart argued that officials in both countries have sometimes avoided discussing offenders’ backgrounds out of concern that doing so could damage relations with minority communities.
“In the U.K., it’s usually the phrase ‘community relations,’” she said. “There’s a huge effort to not threaten community relations.”
Germany’s ifo Institute reported in February 2025 that its analysis of district-level police data from 2018 through 2023 found no correlation between a rising foreign population and local crime rates, including in areas receiving more refugees.
“We find no correlation between an increasing share of foreigners in a district and the local crime rate,” ifo researcher Jean-Victor Alipour said when the findings were released. “The same applies in particular to refugees.” Researchers said differences in suspect rates can be influenced by age, sex, urban concentration and other demographic factors.
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A woman poses with a sign as members of the public queue to enter a council meeting during a protest calling for justice for victims of sexual abuse and grooming gangs, outside the council offices at City Centre on Jan. 20, 2025, in Oldham, England. (Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
Germany’s Syrian population also plays a significant role in sectors facing severe labor shortages.
The German Medical Association reported that 7,959 Syrian citizens were working as physicians in Germany at the end of 2025, making Syrians the country’s largest group of foreign doctors.
The competing evidence presents European governments with a difficult test: investigating organized exploitation and demographic patterns without political hesitation, while avoiding the suggestion that hundreds of suspects define millions of immigrants.
France is gearing up to host a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” ahead of this year’s 14 July celebrations, with at least 25 heads of state or government due to meet in Paris on Monday to discuss support for Ukraine.
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Created in Paris and jointly led with the United Kingdom, the coalition has now expanded to include 37 countries, meeting both in person and via video conference. Two new members, Moldova and North Macedonia, are scheduled to take part in Monday’s meeting for the first time.
Meeting at the Hôtel des Invalides, the allies will aim to “strengthen,” according to the French presidency, a renewed sense of unity and cooperation in support of Ukraine, which was reaffirmed at the recent G7 summit in Évian and at the NATO summit in Ankara, where allies committed to sending €70 billion in military aid to Kyiv in 2026.
The objective is to show that Western allies are continuing their support for Ukraine and that Moscow cannot rely on “war fatigue,” according to an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Coalition leaders will focus on air defence cooperation, including newly announced US plans for the licensed production of Patriot missiles in Ukraine. They will also discuss the creation of an anti-ballistic missile system.
As for security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a hypothetical ceasefire, the French presidency says that plans to deploy a multinational force, stationed away from the front lines, are “ready”. They remain, however, “subject to change”, given that the prospect of an end to hostilities still appears distant.
Beyond the presence of troops on the ground, these guarantees would be based on “legally binding” bilateral agreements and on US involvement in monitoring a ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to be in Paris on both Monday and Tuesday.
Bastille Day parade
The meeting is set to take place on the eve of France’s annual Bastille Day celebrations.
The Élysée Palace has said that this year’s parade will bring together nearly 6,800 service personnel, with 15% more troops than last year and a 30% increase in the number of vehicles and aircraft taking part.
In total, nearly 500 service members representing the countries of the Coalition of the Willing are expected to lead the parade.
The French military’s aerial acrobatics team, the Patrouille de France, is also expected to take part, accompanied by two Mirage fighter jets carrying Ukrainian co-pilots trained in France. German, British, Croatian, Danish, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, and Swedish aircraft are also set to feature in the parade.
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