The length of the tunnel discovered by Israel is more than four kilometers, and its mouth was hidden in a sand dune about 400 meters from the Israeli border.
The Israel Defense Forces says it has uncovered the terrorist organization Hamas’s largest tunnel in Gaza so far. According to Israel, the tunnel is four kilometers long and extends to a depth of up to 50 meters.
The tunnel is wide enough so that vehicles can drive through it, says a photographer from the news agency AFP who visited the tunnel. There is electricity, air conditioning and communication systems.
The tunnel leads to the Israeli border
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the tunnel ends at the Gaza-Israel border. Its mouth was hidden in a sand dune, about 400 meters before the border of Erez.
Erez was attacked by Hamas during the October 7 attacks. According to the Israeli Armed Forces, a large number of weapons were found in the tunnel.
– It is the biggest tunnel we have found in Gaza. It takes years to build such a tunnel, says Daniel Hagari, chief spokesman for the Israeli army, to the Reuters news agency.
Destroying hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels and bunkers is one of the goals of the Israeli attack.
Hamas has built approx more than 500 kilometers of tunnels Under Gaza. Tunnels have been used, for example, for smuggling and storing weapons.
Israel is considered sea water pumping into tunnels. However, the country’s armed forces are worried that there may be Hamas Israeli hostages in the tunnels.