IDF uncovers 'biggest Gaza terror tunnel yet'

Army announces it has exposed terror tunnel running from Gaza to southern Israel; Hamas claims Israel previously unearthed tunnel.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Gaza terror tunnel. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE)
Gaza terror tunnel.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE)
The army discovered a terrorism tunnel linking the southern Gaza Strip to Israel, the army announced on Friday.
“The IDF sees the tunnel as an attack on Israeli sovereignty and a clear violation of agreements reached in Operation Pillar of Defense [of 2012],” the army said.
Hamas bore responsibility for the tunnel, the military said.
Hamas denied the IDF’s claim, saying the army had unearthed an old passage dug by Islamic Jihad.
Security sources said the terror tunnel was the largest the IDF had found to date.
The IDF has not disclosed its exact location, for security reasons. “It was discovered by the Gaza Division, which acted on intelligence that led to physical ground activities,” one army source said.
The tunnel stretches hundreds of meters into Israel, and its western (Gaza) section has still not been completely mapped out. In some sections, it is 20 meters deep, and in others, 8 to 9 meters deep, the source continued.
Gaza terror tunnle. (IDF Spokeperon's Office)
Gaza terror tunnle. (IDF Spokeperon's Office)
The army discovered a terrorism tunnel linking the southern Gaza Strip to Israel, the army announced on Friday.
“The IDF sees the tunnel as an attack on Israeli sovereignty and a clear violation of agreements reached in Operation Pillar of Defense [of 2012],” the army said.
Hamas bore responsibility for the tunnel, the military said.
Hamas denied the IDF’s claim, saying the army had unearthed an old passage dug by Islamic Jihad.
Security sources said the terror tunnel was the largest the IDF had found to date.
The IDF has not disclosed its exact location, for security reasons. “It was discovered by the Gaza Division, which acted on intelligence that led to physical ground activities,” one army source said.
The tunnel stretches hundreds of meters into Israel, and its western (Gaza) section has still not been completely mapped out. In some sections, it is 20 meters deep, and in others, 8 to 9 meters deep, the source continued.