JERUSALEM (EJP)— The Israeli army uncovered a new terror tunnel in southern Gaza, hundreds of meters inside Israel.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) the tunnel’s opening is hundreds of meters inside Israel and it varies in depth. It is among the largest and most sophisticated ever found, the army said.
The exposure of this tunnel was based on intelligence, and boots on the ground in the vicinity of the Gaza security fence,” IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, said.
”Our operational assumption is that Hamas and other terror organizations continue to tunnel and prepare points of attack against Israel and its civilians. This advanced tunnel was intended to pose a direct link and threat to Israeli territory, and enable Hamas terrorists to reach and harm Israeli civilians. Tunnels such as this are built to assist terrorists in the execution of terror attacks. In the past Gaza terrorists have utilized such tunnels to Israel for infiltration, detonation and abduction of Israeli citizens.”
In 2013, three such tunnels were discovered along the Gaza-Israel security fence.
In October 2013, IDF soldiers found, near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha a 1.7 kilometers long tunnel which was around 18 meters underground, which was successfully detonated in November. The tunnel was going to be used by Palestinian terrorists to enter Israel and launch attack against soldiers or civilians.
In January of the same year, a tunnel was revealed near Kibbutz Nir Oz.