EREZ: The Israeli army said on Sunday it had uncovered the biggest Hamas tunnel in the Gaza Strip so far, just a few hundred metres from a key border crossing. Such was its size that small vehicles could travel within the tunnel.
The underground passage formed part of a wider branching network that stretched for over four kilometres and came within 400 metres of the Erez border crossing, the army said.It cost millions of dollars and took years to construct, Israeli forces said, with the project lead by Mohamed Yahya, brother of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to have masterminded the October 7 attacks.
The honeycomb of passageways features a drainage systems, electricity, ventilation, sewage and a communication network as well as rails. The floor is compacted earth while its walls are reinforced concrete and its entrance is a metal cylinder with 1.5 centimetre thick walls. Footage released by the Israeli army, which it said was filmed by Hamas, showed a small construction vehicle being driven into the tunnel, an extensive temporary warehouse filled with pre-cast concrete for lining walls and workers digging beneath the earth using crude power tools.
The Israeli army said it had found a large number of weapons stored in the tunnel.
Hamas expended huge resources in the project, said an army spokesman, and did so to “serve only one purpose – attacking the State of Israel and its residents”. He said the tunnel was deliberately built near the Erez crossing, which Israel uses to facilitate the entry of Palestinian workers and those travelling for medical care.