The Israeli military on Sunday announced that it destroyed two attack tunnels, one that entered Israeli territory and another inside the central Gaza Strip, the latest in a series of underground structures have been demolished by Israel in recent months.
The border-crossing tunnel destroyed early Sunday morning was located in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said.
The tunnel demolitions came as tensions between Israel and terror groups in the Palestinian enclave have risen in recent weeks after a number of bombs exploded near IDF patrols along the border, sparking reprisal attacks.
According to Conricus, the cross-border passage destroyed Sunday was an “old tunnel” that was built before the 2014 Gaza war and partially destroyed during the conflict. He said the Hamas terrorist group was trying to “revive” the passage by connecting an intact portion that penetrated Israeli territory to a new tunnel.
The other target, which was destroyed by Israeli fighter jets around midnight on Saturday, was a “subterranean complex” in the central Gaza Strip, according to Conricus.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman credited the army’s destruction of the tunnels to “high quality intelligence and breakthrough technology.”
“Whoever thought they could attack us from underground has come up against an iron wall,” he said, referring to an Israeli wall being built underneath the border to thwart tunnel-building. “Hamas invested billions in its tunnel project and now they’re drowning in the sand. I recommend that Hamas invest its money in the welfare of the citizens of Gaza because by the end of the year its tunnel project will be destroyed.”
Palestinian media published photographs from inside Gaza, apparently showing the damage from the Israeli strikes.
Last year, Israel began construction of a new above- and below-ground barrier around the Gaza Strip, which the army says will end the threat of attack tunnels from the coastal enclave.
Army officials have said that they expect to find and destroy more tunnels as construction of the barrier continues.
The spokesperson added that the army used a new technique to destroy the tunnel that would prevent Hamas from being able to use it again, but would not elaborate on its nature.
Conricus said he could not describe the underground infrastructure destroyed in central Gaza, beyond saying that it was used by the Hamas terrorist group for “military purposes.”
According to the spokesperson, the destruction of this “subterranean complex” was in response to the bombing that took place on the border fence that was meant to injure Israeli soldiers, but failed to do so.
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