After More Than Two Years of War.. Israel Suddenly Discovers Tunnel Near Gaza Borders

Translation by SadaNews - More than two years have passed since the war that took place in the Gaza Strip, during which Israel claimed to have achieved strategic accomplishments. However, unexpectedly, an Israeli military force has uncovered a tunnel near the borders of the Gaza envelope settlements.

The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed on Friday that the tunnel was located 800 meters from the borders of these settlements and has several branches leading to the settlements located between the central and southern parts of the strip, specifically near Kissufim.

The tunnel is situated within the buffer zone, which is supposed to remain under Israeli control in any future scenario. The Israeli army is conducting an investigation into the history of its excavation and why it wasn’t discovered earlier, given that it is located in an area that has had permanent Israeli military sites on both sides of the border for quite some time, the newspaper added, translated by SadaNews.

According to estimates from the Israeli army, the tunnel was intended for combat and for militants to emerge from it to launch an attack near the border or to transport Israeli captives to the Al-Maghazi refugee camp located east of the central area of the strip.

The tunnel contains reinforced concrete walls and can be easily traversed inside.

The Hebrew newspaper reveals, as translated by SadaNews, that the tunnel was discovered unexpectedly after a force from the Golani Brigade spotted obvious land collapses during routine sweeps of the area. Initially, it was believed to be caused by the winter, but it turned out that there was a tunnel in the vicinity, and since that moment last week, the process of gradually uncovering it began.

At first, the Israeli army thought it was a pit resulting from the rains, but as the inspection deepened, suspicion grew that it was a tunnel since it was located in a narrow strip of land between the populated Palestinian territories and the border fence, in an area filled with undulating terrain, an orchard of trees, and potential infiltration paths.

The Israeli army confirmed the existence of more undiscovered tunnels and passages in the buffer zone, especially in the area under its control along the yellow line. Therefore, its forces in the area are working around the clock in all sectors of the Gaza Strip to locate these tunnels.

The Israeli army also confirmed that the tunnel does not extend into the Israeli side but is verifying the possibility of a branch crossing the yellow line into the populated area controlled by Hamas.

The newspaper states: In either case, on the Hamas side of the yellow line, there are many kilometers of tunnels that have not yet been discovered or destroyed, some of which were within the grip of the Israeli army that was halted at the last moment from operating in those areas and withdrew after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas about two and a half months ago.