Israel’s military on Monday discovered an attack tunnel running under the Gaza perimeter fence, presumably dug at the behest of the Hamas terror group.
By World Israel News and AP
The IDF on Monday announced it exposed a cross-border attack tunnel during construction of its subterranean barrier around the Gaza Strip.
Israeli troops are currently investigating the tunnel route.
In recent years, the Hamas terror group developed a sophisticated network of concrete tunnels, including many built for cross-border terror attacks against Israel.
The cross-border tunnel represents the eighteenth such structure discovered since the end of 2014’s Operation Protective Edge, reported Channel 12 news.
Hamas reportedly constructed the network of tunnels, which cost millions of dollars a piece, as part of a strategy to invade Israel and commit attacks on civilians in Gaza belt communities.
There was no comment from Gaza on Monday regarding the IDF’s discovery of the latest cross-border tunnel.
Earlier in the day, the IDF shot down and recovered a drone, which was taken for examination.
Gaza’s Hamas rulers have developed a drone program with the assistance of Iran, which funds and arms terror proxies throughout the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. The drones are typically used for reconnaissance along the Israeli-Gaza border and it’s unclear if they can carry out attacks.
Tensions have simmered despite an informal truce reached earlier this year. At violent along the frontier, Palestinians have launched incendiary balloons toward Israeli farms, destroying millions of dollars of Israeli crops and nature preserves. Others have approached the fence and attacked Israeli troops.