Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful regional ally, has signaled privately that it does not intend to attack Israel, but Lebanon’s military has bolstered its presence in the country’s south to prevent rocket fire.

About 50 metres off the road near the south Lebanese town of Chebaa, the entrance to the tunnel would be easy to miss, with short, bushy trees overhanging a vertical drop around the size of a manhole cover.

Lebanon’s president and prime minister say their country must stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran because any engagement would be detrimental to the small nation engulfed in an economic crisis and struggling to recover from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.