The IDF announced on Saturday that troops demolished three offensive tunnels in the Khan Younis area in the southern Gaza Strip, some of which extended into Israeli territory.
According to the army, two tunnels were discovered a decade ago, and the third was uncovered in 2019. Two tunnels crossed into Israel, reaching 50 and 300 meters from the border, respectively. These tunnels were dug around ten years ago, and the IDF, aware of their existence, did not demolish them until now. Instead, the tunnels were booby-trapped with explosives, camouflaged cameras and sensors to eliminate terrorists using them.
IDF demolishes Hamas tunnels in Khan Younis
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The military claimed after the construction of the underground barrier at the border was complete in the late last decade that there were no more cross-border tunnels, as it was decided to keep the existence of these tunnels under wraps.
Parts of the tunnel network were attacked from the air at the onset of the war, and all were ultimately destroyed as part of Israel’s buffer zone plan. Hamas did not use three of these tunnels in its October 7 surprise attack on Israel, but they extended deep into the Gaza Strip, where terrorists used them against IDF forces maneuvering in Gaza. Inside the tunnels, water bottles and mattresses belonging to Hamas were found, indicating recent use by terrorists.
The tunnels, under intelligence and technological surveillance by the IDF in recent years, were identified in operations led by the 98th Division and the Yahalom Unit for the detection, mapping and destruction of tunnels in the Hamas Khan Younis Brigade area.
One of the tunnels which was discovered nearly a decade ago was targeted by air strikes during the 2021 Gaza war, killing several Hamas terrorists. At the outset of the current war, it was attacked at multiple points to prevent offensive use and has been destroyed in recent weeks.
Another tunnel, revealed in 2014, was identified as a terror tunnel reaching into Israeli territory; Hamas has not rebuilt this tunnel since.
The third tunnel destroyed in recent weeks was exposed in 2019, before the establishment of the underground barrier. This tunnel extended 300 meters into Israeli territory. Since the beginning of the war, it has been targeted multiple times.