The Israel Air Force on Saturday evening destroyed a Hamas offensive tunnel in advanced stages of building mere meters from the Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip.The tunnel, which Hamas dug in the security parameter, originated in Beit Hanun and stretched over a kilometer, and was intended to reach Israeli communities, such as Kibbutz Erez.
According to the IDF, it was the first neutralized tunnel that did not cross into Israeli territory. Furthermore, while the most recent tunnel was destroyed by air strikes, previous tunnels were destroyed by flooding, to prevent Hamas from ever using them again.
The tunnel was destroyed following weeks of surveillance. It was the ninth tunnel to be located with advanced technology, which pinpointed its exact location, as part of Israel’s commitment to destroy all underground terrorist infrastructure.
Israel’s military has been investing extensive effort in locating cross-border tunnels from Gaza, and has been building an innovative underground barrier across the entire border with the Hamas-run enclave. Construction of the barrier is expected to cost more than NIS 3 billion and take two years to complete.
The IDF said that both the tunnel near Erez, and the attack tunnel that Hamas dug under the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, which was “neutralized” by the IDF in January, were built underneath humanitarian crossings toward Israel.
“The terrorist tunnels prove the Hamas terrorist organization’s cynicism toward the residents of the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said. READ MORE
