OPINION:
During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Israeli troops destroyed 32 tunnels from the Gaza Strip that were dug across the border into Israel. In a new report, Haaretz’s defense analyst Amos Harel states that Hamas may have rebuilt as many tunnels as were available to the terrorist organization prior to the Israeli military operation.
“Hamas is investing great efforts and huge sums in the tunnel project,” Harel wrote. “It is reasonable to assume that the number of tunnels crossing under the border is close to that on the eve of Protective Edge,” reports The Israeli Project.
Last month, a Hamas operative was killed in a tunnel collapse near Khan Yunis on the Israeli border. Hamas used the tunnels to conduct surprise attacks on Israeli soldiers in 2014, killing several in October of that year. The Israeli Defense Force, or IDF, states that Hamas had planned to use the tunnels for a mass terrorist attack against innocent Israeli citizens, sending 200 armed men into civilian populations along the border during Rosh Hashanah.
In recent weeks, the Shin Bet has broken up three Hamas cells in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which were planning shooting attacks and kidnappings of Israelis, as well as suicide bombings inside of Israel.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.