The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed Monday that soldiers had discovered and destroyed a large tunnel underneath central Gaza, one kilometer long, that had been used to transport terrorists and weapons in a key strategic area.
Here is what our troops have encountered in central Gaza during operations over the past few months:
– Approx. 100 terrorists who were eliminated.
– Over 100 structures utilized for terrorism, including: weapons storage facilities, observation posts, launch pits and… pic.twitter.com/QSTPYDHznY
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 1, 2024
This is a tunnel shaft leading to a rocket production site we recently found in Gaza.
This is what Hamas has been investing millions of dollars in for years: building infrastructure for terror rather than for their people. pic.twitter.com/mwtvz2VNZv
— LTC (S.) Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) July 1, 2024
In a statement, the IDF said:
The 99th Division, the only reserve division operating in the Gaza Strip, has been fighting for the past few months in the area of the central Gaza Strip. The soldiers have eliminated approximately 100 terrorists and destroyed more than 100 terrorist structures, weapons storage facilities, observation posts, launch pits and underground tunnel routes.
In cooperation with the Yahalom Unit, the troops destroyed a terrorist tunnel one kilometer in length. The tunnel included branches which were used by terrorists to move between different locations underground. In addition, the troops operated against a booby-trapped mosque that was used as a hideout for terrorists in the area. Secondary explosions were detected after the strike, indicating the presence of large quantities of weapons stored at the site.
The tunnel apparently passed underneath the Netzarim Corridor, a swath of central Gaza that is one of the only pieces of territory still actively controlled by IDF forces.
The IDF also found and destroyed the largest Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket production facility found thus far, according to the Times of Israel.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.