Minutes before the IDF cleared for publication Sunday that it recently destroyed a Hamas tunnel from Gaza that had penetrated into Israel, the terror movement’s military wing published a statement containing what appeared to be a reference to its neutralization several weeks ago.
“The coming days will prove to the enemy the magnitude of his error and his erroneous estimation of the resistance's willpower,” the statement read.
The statement was published against the background of increased violence following US President Donald Trump’s recognition last week of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but also in possible allusion to the IDF’s destruction of the tunnel.
“The enemy’s leaders and those making its decisions must understand the extent of the folly with which they conduct the struggle against the resistance,” the statement continued.
“We promise them that we will make them bite their fingers with regret because of their erroneous schemes to silence the resistance and the way in which they conduct their campaigns.”
The military arm of the Gaza-ruling organization also praised the “prolonged and widescale intifada of our people for Jerusalem and al-Aqsa as a sign of refusal in the face of aggressive decisions and the idleness that grants Zionism right in our land in our Jerusalem.”
Moreover, the statement called on Palestinians “to continue the intifada and any way of resisting the occupation,” adding that “the blood of martyrs from our people and its heroic fighters will not be spilled in vain. The enemy will pay for its aggression and its crimes against our people.”
Shortly after the IDF announced that the tunnel had been uncovered on Sunday, GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir uploaded a video on social media accusing Hamas of “systematically violating Israel’s sovereignty,” adding that their actions are causing an escalation of violence on the sensitive border and that their “terror tunnels will become a death trap for you.”