IDF conducts controlled explosion of Hamas tunnel from Gaza to Israel
"Tunnel blown up to destroy Hamas terror infrastructure."
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
The IDF carried out on Tuesday a controlled explosion of a bomb-filled tunnel that Hamas had dug from Gaza into Israel.The army found the tunnel before November 2012’s Operation Pillar of Defense, a senior army source stressed.“The tunnel was blown up to destroy an additional Hamas terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF said in a statement.“The IDF will continue to operate as is necessary to protect the residents of Israel.”Gazan terrorists had filled the tunnel with explosives, and the controlled demolition took place shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the army source said.On Sunday, the IDF announced the uncovering of a massive 1.7-km.-long Hamas attack tunnel leading from Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, into Israel, complete with an electrical supply and phone lines, and lined with Israeli cement.The tunnel might have been intended for attacking or kidnapping soldiers, or for moving terrorists into Israel to attack civilians in border towns and villages, army sources said on Sunday.It took Hamas more than a year to complete, and its ceiling in high enough to allow people to stand upright as they move through it. The tunnel is buried some 20 meters underground as it crosses the Gaza border.A security source said it was the best-designed terror tunnel the IDF had found to date.