ERT correspondent Elena Apostolidou conducted a report deep inside a Hezbollah tunnel in northern Israel, accompanied by forces from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). The ERTNews camera, with Fotis Pantos, ventured underground to explore the Shia organisation’s tunnels connecting Israel’s border with Lebanon. According to the IDF’s special forces, navigating the tunnels was challenging, requiring specialised equipment, technology, and advanced systems. Speaking to ANA-MPA, the journalist described her experience with the ERT crew roughly 20 metres underground.
“We arrived at the Israel-Lebanon border in the Avivim area at around 9 p.m. It was pitch dark, and we could hear deafening sounds from interceptions. Upon reaching the border, the meeting point with the IDF special forces, we heard rockets very close to us and had to dash to a small shelter at the military camp. Once the alarm ended, we boarded specialised vehicles, escorted by heavily armed commandos, passed through the UN buffer zone, and arrived at a Muslim cemetery, where the Hezbollah tunnel ended. The journey to reach the tunnel’s entrance, 20 metres below ground, was an unforgettable experience – complete darkness, our phones switched off, absolute silence, and soldiers scanning the area with special torches. Wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, we followed the instructions of the Israeli forces, who spoke to the ERTNEWS camera, giving directions and information about the Hezbollah tunnel. Before we descended, unit commanders assigned each of us a unique number, so the special forces soldier could identify and direct us in case of an attack or need to evacuate. I was number 8, and next to me was a fully armed soldier who walked almost in sync with me through the tunnel,” described the ERT journalist.
The ERT team walked about 500 metres inside the tunnel to one of Hezbollah’s most impressive large chambers, built with support from Iran. There, they saw bullets, rockets, and food supplies. Israeli soldiers explained that these tunnels were crucial for the organisation’s operations, where they planned to infiltrate Israel.
“This was an incredibly powerful experience. The first part of the journey, reaching the tunnel entrance, was an unforgettable aspect of the report, marked by silence, darkness, and the heavily armed soldiers, as well as the sounds of interceptions. The second part involved our descent into the tunnel, going 20 metres below the surface. In the third part, we crossed through the Hezbollah tunnel along the Israel-Lebanon border, leaving Israel and approaching Marun al-Ras, a village in Lebanon. The scenes were intense, capturing the advanced technology used to build the tunnels, the rockets, and Hezbollah’s fortification areas. The IDF instructed us not to touch anything. At this moment, on the afternoon of Monday, 11 November in Haifa – the northern Israeli city where the ERTNEWS mission is stationed – the city is under heavy rocket fire, with sirens blaring and constant interceptions in the sky, requiring us to seek shelter,” Apostolidou recounted to ANA-MPA, reflecting on her experience.
Describing the challenges of reporting in a war zone, she added: “There were many challenges in this report, dealing with various factors – anxiety, fear, and simultaneously being present to cover this monumental story. It was a situation of crisis within multiple layers of challenges, as the emotions were intense and contradictory, from adrenaline to awe, while aiming for professional excellence. A key element of this experience was maintaining a clear journalistic perspective, describing what I was seeing, and capturing it with the cameraman Fotis Pantos. Everything had to be done swiftly, adding to the difficulty, as I aimed to secure personal interviews with the commander and the special forces soldier who spoke to us off-camera. I had to quickly plan questions, the backdrop, and efficiently utilise the limited time we had within the tunnels. I want to emphasise that we are a close-knit, excellent team, with Fotis Pantos on camera and Antonis Kyprayos handling sound. Together, we deliver reports and updates, and I’m fortunate to be part of this team.”
Source: ANA-MPA
