IDF soldiers destroyed an underground tunnel hundreds of meters long near Khan Yunis during operations to clear the area east of the Yellow Line in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said on Sunday.
The operation was conducted by the IDF's 188th Brigade, under the command of the 143rd Gaza Division, alongside the military's elite Yahalom Unit of the Combat Engineering Corps.
Three living quarters were also found in the tunnel, and dozens of weapons were discovered and confiscated by the IDF.
The weapons found included approximately 45 grenades and 35 cartridges, ten Kalashnikov-type rifles, RPG rockets and launchers, about 10 explosives, and six vests.
IDF announces capture of Hamas commander
The IDF announced on Friday that it had captured one of Hamas's top remaining commanders during its operation in Rafah, after eight terrorists were identified by troops coming up from below the ground, and were then struck by the Israeli air force, successfully killing three of them.
After the strikes, the IDF performed searches in the area and apprehended one of the fleeing terrorists. He was later identified as a mid-level commander in Hamas’ Eastern Rafah Battalion.
According to reports by Army Radio, the other four terrorists identified as leaving the tunnels were not captured, and their location remains unknown.
Tobias Holcman contributed to this report.