The Israel Defense Forces announced it completed the destruction of the largest Hamas tunnel found in Gaza on Tuesday.
The massive tunnel system was discovered in December and led up to the Erez border crossing and was adjacent to Moshav Netiv HaAsara.
“The highest ranking members of the terrorist organization were directly involved in building this tunnel, including Yahya and Mohammed Sinwar, who worked on the planning, construction and budgeting — all of which drew major resources from the people of Gaza for the benefit of terror infrastructure instead of civilian infrastructure,” said Maj. Y., commander of the IDF’s Underground Warfare Unit.
Hamas’s Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar masterminded the October 7 attacks. His brother, Mohammed is a prominent commander in the terror group who oversaw the tunnel project.
Y. described the destruction of the tunnel network as “a very significant engineering effort.”
The military released footage of detonations at several points of the network and concrete being poured into the remaining areas.
The tunnel split into several branches, spanning over four kilometers (2.5 miles). It was 50 meters below the ground and was wide enough for vehicles to be driven through. The IDF said the tunnel reached within 400 meters of the Erez crossing on Gaza’s northern border. While the tunnel did not cross into Israel, the IDF said it was intended to be used for an offensive attack.
The Erez crossing is the only crossing between Israel and Gaza for pedestrian traffic. It is primarily used by diplomats, aid workers, journalists and Gazans with work or medical permits.
Since the ground invasion of Gaza, soldiers have exposed hundreds of terror tunnel shafts throughout the Strip. Many are built from reinforced concrete and were equipped with electricity, ventilation, sewage, communication networks and rails. Multiple tunnels were found built under hospitals, schools, kindergartens, universities and civilian neighborhoods.
At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the remaining 134 hostages, Israel recently declared 31 of them dead.
