Senior Israeli military officers are set to travel to Russia to brief officials about an operation launched last week to "expose and thwart" Hezbollah tunnels along Israels border with Lebanon. The Israeli military issued a statement Monday saying the officers would depart Tuesday "to provide an update regarding Operation Northern Shield and other operational issues." Israel has discovered at least two tunnels since launching the operation last week that it says were built by Hezbollah to carry out attacks against Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone call over the weekend. A statement from his office said that he had also stressed to Putin “once more Israel’s policy aimed at preventing Iran’s entrenchment in Syria and at acting against Iran and Hezbollah’s aggression.” The relationship between Russia and Israel has been strained since September, when Russia accused Israel of indirectly causing the downing of a Russian military jet by Syrian air defenses following an Israeli air strike nearby. Israel frequently carries out airstrikes against Iran and its allies in Syria in an effort to prevent sophisticated weaponry from reaching Hezbollah in Lebanon. So far the Israel-Lebanon border has remained largely quiet but there are fears of escalation. On Friday, an Israeli cabinet minister said Israel was prepared to take action in Lebanon against the cross-border tunnels if it deemed it necessary.