The IDF has uncovered and irreparably damaged a tunnel that Hamas dug across the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel, the military revealed on Monday.
The tunnel had been under development for “a long time” and that work on it was ongoing in recent days, outgoing commander of the Gaza Division Brig.-Gen. Nimrod Aloni told reporters.
The main part of the tunnel, Aloni said, had two branches from it that crossed the international border but did not cross the IDF border barrier. The military launched an operation over the weekend, damaging the tunnel by inserting material into it that made it unusable.
The tunnel had a depth of dozens of meters and started in Gaza City, reaching the border not far from Kibbutz Alumim on the Israeli side.
“It is no longer a threat to Israel,” Aloni said.
Part of the tunnel was attacked during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021 and new parts of the tunnel – including renovations to the parts that were damaged – could not have been attacked kinetically, so the IDF decided to pour material into the tunnel that would make it unusable in the future.
Sunset on the tunnel after Operation Breaking Dawn
News of the tunnel came just a week after the IDF completed Operation Breaking Dawn against Islamic Jihad. The army refrained from attacking Hamas targets during the operation.
Aloni said the IDF believes that Hamas has additional tunnels along the border, some of which it plans to use in future operations against it. Dozens of tunnels, he said, were neutralized by the IDF during his two-year tenure as commander of the Gaza Division.