The Israeli military announced on Sunday that it had discovered what it described as the “largest” Hamas tunnel to date in the Gaza Strip, located 15 stories underground.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the army as saying that the tunnel includes a complex, located hundreds of meters from the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel, containing underground rooms designed for long stays over several months in a safe manner, and extends to 15 floors underground.
The Israeli military revealed that the tunnel extends from the Jabalia refugee camp for 4 kilometers near the border with Israel in the northern part of the Gaza Strip near the Erez crossing, and can accommodate hundreds to thousands of people, and its entrances near Israeli territory have been concealed.
The Israeli military is unsure why Hamas is not keeping the tunnel secret for its original purpose, and it is estimated that there are additional tunnels near the Israeli border.
Over the weekend, the Israeli military revealed to reporters only one branch of the tunnel, located hundreds of meters from the Erez crossing, which served as a channel for the thousands of Gazan workers who enter Israel daily to work.