The IDF blew up a Hamas attack tunnel that reached into Israeli territory Monday, using new technology to detect terrorist tunnels.
The “controlled explosion,” as the IDF called it, took place in Israeli territory. The tunnel, which was still under construction, began in Khan Younes in Gaza, and continued into Israel. The explosion was conducted by the Southern Command.
According to Palestinian media, six Palestinians were killed.
Arafat Abu Marshould, head of the faction’s armed wing in central Gaza, was killed along with a senior associate and two other gunmen. The group said it had put its fighters on “full alert,” a source for the Islamic Jihad terrorist group said.
The armed wing of the Islamist Hamas group said two of its gunmen were killed while trying to rescue Islamic Jihad men working in the tunnel. Gaza health officials said nine people were wounded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman touted the blast as a show of Israel’s technological advancement.
In a Likud faction meeting on Monday, Netanyahu said Israel will “harm whoever will try to harm us.”
“I told you many times that we are developing groundbreaking technology to deal with the tunnel threat,” he added. “Today we detected a tunnel and destroyed it, and we will continue doing so…We will continue to protect Israel’s borders.”
Liberman said the event was “a result of high operational capabilities and also a significant technological breakthrough, which allows us to deal with the tunnel threat much better.”
“I think the message is clear to all,” Liberman added, “we will not tolerate breaches of Israeli sovereignty…This proves that despite Palestinian unity, the Gaza Strip remains a terrorist kingdom, and for us, there is no doubt Hamas, who controls Gaza is responsible.”
However, the Defense Minister said, Israel is not interested in an escalation.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett referred to the destroyed tunnel as “a serious violation of Israel’s sovereignty.”
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit added that locating “terrorism tunnels” is a part of a wide defense effort carried out by the military since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense, the eight-day standoff between Israel and Hamas that took place back in 2012.
“The IDF will will keep taking all measures needed over and under the ground to thwart attempts to harm the residents of the State of Israel and to keep the area quiet, as it was after the Pillar of Defense operation.”
The IDF Spokesperson added that while the army had no intentions to deteriorate the situation, “it is ready for a variety of scenarios.”
JPost.com Staff, Reuters and Yasser Okbi contributed to this report.
Article source: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-1.815642
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