GAZA - The IDF uncovered a tunnel on Monday that had been dug from a Palestinian town in Gaza and led to a nearby Jewish settlement, raising fears terrorists may have planned to send suicide bombers to an attack in the area.
The tunnel extended from the town of Khan Younis toward an industrial zone in the settlement of Neve Dekalim. It was discovered after the Palestinian Authority relayed intelligence information to Israeli authorities
Israel and the United States have been pressuring the Palestinian Authority to stop terrorists and weapons smuggling into Gaza towns.
Army to demolish tunnel Monday
The 20-meter tunnel, which appeared to be freshly dug, had meant to bypass a checkpoint to allow Palestinian terrorists to infiltrate Israeli territory, Israeli military sources said.
The army plans to demolish it later Monday.
Terrorists from the Islamic Hamas group killed five Israelis in December by packing explosives in a tunnel they had built underneath a military base.
Palestinian terror has increased in Gaza in recent months ahead of the planned Israeli pullout from the territory in August. Terrorists fired five mortar bombs at Jewish settlements in north Gaza on Sunday, causing no casualties.