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Israel assumes there are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels under the Gaza Strip - and blows them up

Photo: Israel Defense Forces / REUTERS

More than four kilometers long, 50 meters deep - and so big that cars can drive through it: In December, Israel's army reported that soldiers had built a large Hamas tunnel in the Gaza Strip.

Now the armed forces say they have destroyed the structure.

The tunnel in the north of the Gaza Strip therefore had several branches.

The military said it had been examined and dismantled in recent weeks.

The army also released videos that show parts of the tunnel being blown up and emergency services pouring concrete into other sections.

The information could not be independently verified. 

“About 20 terrorists” killed

The tunnel system was therefore located 400 meters away from the Erez border crossing between Israel and the coastal area.

It is said to have been built by Mohammed al-Sinwar, the brother of the head of the Islamist organization in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar.

According to Israeli media reports, the tunnel route leads to Jabalia.

The refugee district in the north of the Gaza Strip is considered a stronghold of the terrorist organization Hamas.

The Israeli military also claimed further successes in the war against Hamas.

Over the past 24 hours, "around 20 terrorists" have been killed by snipers, tanks and drones, the army said.

More than 50 Hamas targets were also hit, including launch pads, weapons depots, tunnel shafts and other military infrastructure.

Troops have also “arrested dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists” during operations in the west of the city of Khan Yunis in recent weeks.

They hid among the civilian population in the area in southern Gaza and tried to escape.

This information also could not be independently verified.

The Gaza war was triggered by the terrorist attack by Hamas and other groups in southern Israel on October 7th last year.

The terrorists killed 1,200 people in the unprecedented massacre and kidnapped 250 others as hostages in the Gaza Strip.

Israel launched a military attack on the coastal area to crush Hamas.

According to the UN, more than 30,000 Palestinians have already been killed.

muk/dpa