Three months after it was revealed to the public, the IDF destroyed the largest terror tunnel found to date in the Gaza Strip in a special operation that lasted almost a week.

The tunnel, which spanned 2.5 miles (four kilometers) long, was destroyed by combat engineers via a controlled explosion and sealed with concrete poured from hundreds of trucks.

The tunnel, which extended from the northern Gaza Strip to a quarter of a mile (400 meters) from the Erez Crossing, was “decorated” with swastikas on its walls and was equipped with communication systems, blast doors, and even a passageway for cars. Mohammad Sinwar, the brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and commander of Hamas’s southern division, oversaw the construction of the tunnel.

In December, the IDF released footage of Muhammad Sinwar driving through the tunnel and noted that the width of the tunnel indicated that it was constructed to infiltrate Gaza border communities with vehicles and carry out raids against civilians.

Following the IDF’s disclosure of the tunnel, Yediot Achranot reported that the existence of the massive tunnel had been known by senior Israeli security and political officials for at least four years.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)