The IDF reported on Motzei Shabbos that troops destroyed three significant attack tunnels in the Khan Younis area, including one that crossed several hundred meters into Israel – a shocking announcement as the IDF had claimed for years that no tunnels have been constructed that crossed into Israel since 2021, when the underground smart fence was completed.

The IDF stated that the tunnels have been “under intelligence and technological surveillance of the IDF in recent years, and after preliminary operations on the ground, they were mapped and destroyed. One of the tunnels was discovered about ten years ago and in 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, it was attacked from the air and a number of Hamas terrorists were killed in it. At the beginning of the war, it was attacked at several points to prevent offensive activity and in the last weeks, it was destroyed.”

“Another tunnel was discovered in 2014 as a terror tunnel that crossed into Israel and was destroyed. Hamas has not restored the tunnel since then and in recent weeks, another section of the tunnel was destroyed deep in the Gaza Strip.”

“The third tunnel that was destroyed in recent weeks was uncovered in 2019, before the construction of the underground barrier, when one branch of the tunnel crossed a few hundred meters into the territory of the State of Israel. The branch has since been under the full operational and intelligence control of the IDF, and sensors and explosives were placed in it with the aim of being used by the IDF if needed, as part of a special operation against Hamas’s underground network.”

“Since the beginning of the war, the tunnel has been struck numerous times, along with several other operations that neutralized the branch that crossed into Israel. The tunnel was not used for the October 7th massacre and was controlled by surveillance and airstrikes throughout the war.”

Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh commented on the report: “The IDF lied to the Israeli public, and specifically to the residents of the Gaza border area, explicitly saying countless times in various briefings and meetings that there are no additional tunnels that reach Israeli territory from Gaza.”

“One can understand why they wanted to keep the story a secret, in order to create [the impression] of operational success, but the lie that lasted for years and is now being exposed cannot be ignored. It’s not clear who made the decision to lie to the public since 2019, but many top IDF officials have continued to maintain the lie since then.”

“Now, when the residents of Ein HaSholsha [Gaza border area kibbutz] discovered that the Hamas tunnel reached so close to them, this is how the IDF seeks to restore the trust that was critically eroded on October 7th?”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)