It appears that for the last five years, the IDF has been lying to the media and Israeli public, denying that any Hamas tunnels crossed Israel's southern border from Gaza. Tonight, it was released for publication that one of the terrorist tunnels, did indeed, reach 500 meters into Israeli territory.
The first tunnel from Gaza was uncovered about a decade ago, and in 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, it was destroyed in an air strike, killing a number of Hamas operatives. At the beginning of the Gaza war, it was attacked at several points to prevent Hamas strikes, and more recently, it was destroyed by an IDF explosives team.
Another tunnel was revealed in 2014 and in recent weeks another section of that tunnel was destroyed by the IDF deep in Gaza.
Contrary to denials: A tunnel crossed Israel's border
The third tunnel that was destroyed in recent weeks was uncovered in 2019 before the construction of the underground barrier. One of its branches crossed a few hundred meters into Israeli territory. That branch has been under the IDF's full operational control, and sensors and explosives were placed in it with the aim of deterring a possible attack.
The IDF says that since the beginning of the war, the tunnel was attacked numerous times, along with several other operations that neutralized the branch crossing into Israel. The tunnel was not used during the October 7 massacre since Hamas realized that it was being used as a trap and crossed into Israel through the "impassable" barrier.
This means that the IDF covered up the fact that there was an active terrorist tunnel inside Israeli territory. Army officials have not yet explained why they chose to lie to the public and provide incorrect information.
