Israeli forces announced on Sunday that they had discovered the largest Hamas tunnel in the Gaza Strip to date, designed to transport Islamists to the border with Israel: the closest crossing into Israeli territory is just 400 meters away.
Millions of dollars have been invested in this tunnel. “It took years to build,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters, in a project coordinated by Mohammed Yahya, the brother of Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar. “It is the largest tunnel we have actually discovered in Gaza.” “
According to the Israeli army’s description, the underground passages extend for four kilometers and reach a depth of 50 meters, with a width and height of three meters – enough for vehicles to pass through. Its dimensions contrast with the dimensions of other tunnels that Hamas has demonstrated publicly: narrow and low, designed to run in a single row.
In this case, the tunnel was equipped with electricity, ventilation, sewage networks, communications systems and roads, in addition to being used to store weapons.
Daniel Hagari said: “This was Yahya Sinwar’s best-kept secret so far, but we discovered it and announced it.”
Destroying or disabling hundreds of kilometers of underground passages and Bunkers This building, built by Hamas, is one of the main targets of the attack launched by Israel in response to the Islamist attack on October 7, which killed more than 1,200 people.
Hagari stressed to reporters his promise to “eliminate Hamas” and its labyrinthine network of tunnels, where Israel believes the movement’s military leaders are hiding, including the Sinwar brothers, but also some of the 129 hostages still in Gaza.
Still in October, North America Institute of Modern WarfareHe revealed from the West Point Military Academy in New York that over the past few decades, about 1,300 tunnels have been built in Gaza, with a total length of more than 500 kilometers. Earlier this month, Israeli forces claimed to have discovered more than 800 such structures and destroyed 500 of them.
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