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Advanced equipment meant for Hamas tunnels seized by Israel

Transit Authority security inspectors at the Tarkumiya crossing near Hebron exposed an unusual smuggling attempt of advanced ventilation systems.

TPS, World Israel News Staff

Israel’s security services were successful in thwarting an unusual attempt to transfer advanced filtering equipment from the Hebron area in Judea and Samaria to the Gaza Strip, apparently intended to be used by Hamas operatives as part of the organization’s terror tunnels project.

Transit Authority security inspectors at the Tarkumiya crossing near Hebron exposed an unusual smuggling attempt of advanced ventilation systems, which were supposedly intended for the Hamas tunnel project in Gaza.

The shipment included filters, valves and even assembly instructions in Hebrew.

The equipment was seized and an investigation has been launched by Israel’s security establishment.

Israel’s combined security agencies have been successful in thwarting thousands of attempts to smuggle illicit materials and products into the Gaza Strip in the past years.

In many of the incidents, the smuggled materials and products are meant for Hamas’ rocket production program or its military build-up, including its elaborate underground city, dubbed by the IDF as the “Metro.”

On Wednesday, Israel announced a raft of humanitarian measures for Gaza, despite nightly riots currently raging on the enclave’s border.

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These include expanding the Gazan fishing zone to 15 nautical miles, the largest it has been since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, and permitting building materials for private construction to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing, in addition to those permitted for humanitarian projects.

Israel will also issue an additional 5,000 workers’ permits, allowing Gazans to cross into Israel to work — more than tripling the total, which currently stands at 2,000.