IDF Exposes Massive Hamas Tunnel Hundreds of Meters from Erez Checkpoint
Regarding the hostages, the Cabinet gave the green light to the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, to continue negotiations with the mediators from Qatar and Egypt. Israel at war – week 11
Israel will need to provide answers this week to the U.S. government regarding the progress of the fighting and the day after. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown are arriving in the country today to seek those answers. Topics of discussion include the fighting in Gaza, aid, the hostages, Lebanon, and the Houthis.
Regarding the hostages, the Cabinet has given the green light to the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, to continue negotiations with the mediators from Qatar and Egypt, to reach a new framework for the release of captives. Israel emphasizes that the negotiations will be long and challenging this time.
Israel will not agree to the imposition of conditions for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and will insist on a framework that ensures the immediate release of women, the sick, and the elderly.
Meanwhile, the IDF continues the investigation into the accidental killing of the three hostages on Friday. “We are investigating and drawing lessons,” said IDF Spokesperson, Lt. Col. Daniel Hagari.
Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, spoke yesterday with soldiers on the tragedy and stated clearly: 'The soldiers who fired accidentally were among the best. They were confident they were doing things right. But we do not shoot at those who raise their hands or wave a white flag. Not at Gaza civilians either. That's not the IDF. I’m telling you to take two seconds and think.”
The initial investigation showed that the soldiers did not enter the house from which the hostages emerged, despite signs on it saying “Hostages” and “SOS,” as they suspected the building might be booby-trapped, as had occurred in other cases during the war. The IDF was also not prepared for such an incident of hostages suddenly appearing from a building.
Combat engineers and special units operated with intelligence measures for the exposure and scanning of a massive Hamas tunnel that had not crossed the Israeli border. The IDF is working to destroy dozens of offensive tunnels.
So far, four kilometers of the large tunnel have been exposed, at a depth of 50 meters. The nearest exit of the tunnel to the Israeli border is located approximately 400 meters from the Erez Crossing, where workers, traders, and patients from the Gaza Strip entered Israel.
This large tunnel includes many branches with reinforced doors and is wide enough for vehicles to drive through. A great deal of weapons was also found there. Dozens of terrorists constructed the tunnel using large digging machines that were smuggled into the Gaza Strip, and millions of dollars were invested.
In Khan Yunis, combatants of the IDF's Unit 7 Counter-Terrorism Battalion reached a building housing the headquarters of Hamas’ regional brigade. Colonel Elad Tzuri, the commander of the 7th Brigade, stated that his fighters arrived at the city center, and uncovered 30 tunnel exits and dozens of anti-tank positions during the fighting.
On Israel’s northern front, the Air Force targeted Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure. An IDF UAV attacked a group of terrorists in response to the firing of an anti-tank missile towards Mount Dov.
Regarding the hostages, the Cabinet gave the green light to the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, to continue negotiations with the mediators from Qatar and Egypt. Israel at war – week 11
Israel will need to provide answers this week to the U.S. government regarding the progress of the fighting and the day after. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown are arriving in the country today to seek those answers. Topics of discussion include the fighting in Gaza, aid, the hostages, Lebanon, and the Houthis.
Regarding the hostages, the Cabinet has given the green light to the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, to continue negotiations with the mediators from Qatar and Egypt, to reach a new framework for the release of captives. Israel emphasizes that the negotiations will be long and challenging this time.
Israel will not agree to the imposition of conditions for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and will insist on a framework that ensures the immediate release of women, the sick, and the elderly.
Meanwhile, the IDF continues the investigation into the accidental killing of the three hostages on Friday. “We are investigating and drawing lessons,” said IDF Spokesperson, Lt. Col. Daniel Hagari.
Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, spoke yesterday with soldiers on the tragedy and stated clearly: 'The soldiers who fired accidentally were among the best. They were confident they were doing things right. But we do not shoot at those who raise their hands or wave a white flag. Not at Gaza civilians either. That's not the IDF. I’m telling you to take two seconds and think.”
The initial investigation showed that the soldiers did not enter the house from which the hostages emerged, despite signs on it saying “Hostages” and “SOS,” as they suspected the building might be booby-trapped, as had occurred in other cases during the war. The IDF was also not prepared for such an incident of hostages suddenly appearing from a building.
Combat engineers and special units operated with intelligence measures for the exposure and scanning of a massive Hamas tunnel that had not crossed the Israeli border. The IDF is working to destroy dozens of offensive tunnels.
So far, four kilometers of the large tunnel have been exposed, at a depth of 50 meters. The nearest exit of the tunnel to the Israeli border is located approximately 400 meters from the Erez Crossing, where workers, traders, and patients from the Gaza Strip entered Israel.
This large tunnel includes many branches with reinforced doors and is wide enough for vehicles to drive through. A great deal of weapons was also found there. Dozens of terrorists constructed the tunnel using large digging machines that were smuggled into the Gaza Strip, and millions of dollars were invested.
In Khan Yunis, combatants of the IDF's Unit 7 Counter-Terrorism Battalion reached a building housing the headquarters of Hamas’ regional brigade. Colonel Elad Tzuri, the commander of the 7th Brigade, stated that his fighters arrived at the city center, and uncovered 30 tunnel exits and dozens of anti-tank positions during the fighting.
On Israel’s northern front, the Air Force targeted Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure. An IDF UAV attacked a group of terrorists in response to the firing of an anti-tank missile towards Mount Dov.
