JERUSALEM — The Israeli military announced Friday it has uncovered another tunnel — the biggest so far — dug from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, stretching into Israel and usable for militant attacks, smuggling or abductions.
According to military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, the opening of the “terror tunnel” was hundreds of yards inside Israel.
It is the biggest such tunnel found to date, Lerner said, but did not elaborate further. He said not all of the tunnel has been uncovered and that there are concerns it could be booby-trapped.
The tunnel was found this week by Israeli intelligence and the military, Lerner said, saying the structure was lined with concrete and describing it as very sophisticated, resembling a subway tunnel.
“This advanced tunnel was intended to pose a direct link and threat to Israeli territory, and enable Hamas terrorists to reach and harm Israeli civilians,” Lerner said.
An electric generator and tools, along with fresh tracks, were found in the tunnel, indicating that it had been worked on recently, he added.
In 2013, Israel announced finding three such tunnels, including one that was over a mile long and 18 yards deep.
Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007, has dug tunnels into Israel in the past. In 2006, a year before seizing power, Hamas-allied militants sneaked into Israel through a tunnel, killed two Israeli soldiers and kidnapped a third, holding him hostage in Gaza for five years.
Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida blamed the tunnel’s discovery on recent rains that exposed its opening, and said the tunnel itself is old.
“Our mujahedeen (holy warriors) worked to fix it,” he said, offering a possible explanation of the fresh tracks. “The enemy’s allegations about intelligence efforts behind the discovery are a big lie.”
Israel has for years banned cement from entering Gaza, arguing it could be used by militants. But since 2010, it has allowed some construction materials in for internationally funded construction projects.
Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortar rounds at Israel over the past decade. Attacks have declined since an eight-day Israeli offensive in 2012 against Gaza militants aimed at stopping what was almost daily fire at the time. But rocket fire still persists.
Last week, Gaza militants fired the heaviest rocket barrage at Israeli communities since 2012, and Israel responded with air strike on militant targets.
Earlier this month, Israeli special forces captured a ship in the Red Sea carrying rockets and other weapons that Israel said were supplied by Iran and destined for militants in Gaza.
