Just three hours before the ceasefire took effect overnight Thursday, the IDF thwarted a major Hamas attack via underground tunnels intended to score a major “victory” attack against Israel before the ceasefire, Channel 12 News reported over the weekend.

At 11 p.m. on Thursday night, the IDF identified an armed Hamas squad in an underground tunnel on the way to carry out a cross-border attack on IDF soldiers or civilians after emerging from the tunnel on the Israeli side of the border.

At the time, dozens of Israel Air Force warplanes were flying over the Gaza Strip as the IDF was well-aware that Hamas or Islamic Jihad would attempt to carry out a last-minute “victory” attack against Israel. The Air Force immediately attacked and eliminated the terrorists inside the tunnel.

Senior security officials said if the attack had not been thwarted, the ceasefire would have collapsed since the IDF would have immediately retaliated for the attack.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)