Israeli Defense Forces Destroy a Terror Tunnel Along the Gaza Strip

The Israeli Defense Forces killed at least eight and wounded at least 12 Palestinians, while destroying a terror tunnel in a southern town near the Gaza Strip on October 31st.  7 of the individuals killed were identified as terrorists. The tunnel stretched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, and the explosion took place on Israeli lines adjacent to the security fence between the border.

Of the individuals killed the Ministry of Health in Gaza identified  five of them to be senior member of the al-Quds Brigades, which is a wing of the terrorist group the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The other two individuals were both identified as commanders in Hamas’ Izz Eddine al-Qassam Brigades. The IDF spokesman said there had been “no intention in any way or at any stage” to intentionally target the senior field commanders from the terror group.

Hamas as not claimed that the tunnel is theirs, but in a statement the terror group said the Israeli action was aimed at undermining the reconciliation agreement. Islamic Jihad leader, Mohammad al Hindi said, “the truce with the enemy is over and the response will be the size of the crime.”

The reconciliation agreement  in was recently signed on October 12^th between Hamas and Fatah, in Egypt. The agreement stated that the groups will form a joint police force and merge their ministries, as well as lift sanctions imposed on the Gaza Strip.

One of IDF’s major goal has been identifying and destroying the tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

Since 2008, Israel has launched three offensives on the Gaza Strip. The most recent one was named Operation Protective Edge was a 50-day campaign that took place in the summer of 2014. The operation was primarily airstrikes which were in response to repeated rocket attacks fired from the Gaza Strip. The operation resulted in an estimated 2,100 Palestinian deaths. During the Operation the underground system was used to attack Israeli troops near the border with Gaza as well as hide from the airstrikes.

During the campaign it was reported that the IDF destroyed at least 34 tunnels.

Since  the 2014 Gaza war, on average one or two rockets are fired from Gaza into Israel each month. They have primarily been fired by al-Qaeda and the Islamic State acting in the area, however, Hamas has controlled the strip since 2007.

Hamas has been working to construct tunnels that are linked to combat tunnels throughout the Gaza Strip since 2014. The group has dug an extensive network for moving fighters around the Strip underground. As of February 2017, Hamas has constructed at least 15 new attack tunnels that reach into Israeli territory.

The tunnels are a major threat for the IDF and civilians, because they can bring Hamas and other terror group fighters into Israeli communities that border Gaza and attack the villages much more easily. The tunnels also act as a safe space for the terror group to mobilize more effectively.