Israel’s military said it had destroyed a cross-border tunnel that ran from the Gaza Strip, through Israel, into Egypt. IDF Spokesman Colonel Jonathan Conricus claimed the tunnel, which was allegedly dug by the Islamist Hamas organization, aimed to be used for terror purposes, because it ran underneath strategic facilities belonging to Israel, including gas and fuel pipelines, as well as an Israeli army position. Colonel Conricus further revealed that the tunnel was dug by key operatives of Hamas and was about 1.5 kilometers long, which is a little shorter than a mile, penetrating some 80 meters under Israel’s Kerem Shalom border crossing into Israel, and from there it continued into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The Islamist Hamas organization, which controls the Gaza Strip, refused to comment on the tunnel’s destruction. Nevertheless, Gazan sources told TV7 that Israeli fighter-jets were clearly cited bombing an area east of the southern town of Rafah, adjacent to the Israeli and Egyptian borders, information that was later confirmed by the IDF.
Meanwhile, Ahead of departing for an official trip to India on Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the IDF’s military operation against the tunnel, reiterating Jerusalem’s resolve in thwarting any attempt to harm Israel’s civilian population and sovereignty. Netanyahu said, “The IDF attacked a major terrorism infrastructure belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. There are those who say the IDF attacks sand dunes – that is not true. We respond to attacks on Israel, we do that by systematically attacking infrastructure directed against us. Hamas must understand that we will not allow these attacks to continue and that we will respond with even greater force,” the Israeli leader declared before boarding his flight at the Ben Gurion International Airport to India.