JERUSALEM, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military said on Monday it has sealed an "attack tunnel" dug by Gaza's Hamas rulers from the besieged Palestinian enclave into Israel.
A military spokesperson said in a statement that the army "has identified and neutralized" a tunnel with two routes that Hamas dug from the northern Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory.
The tunnel crossed into Israeli territory but failed to pass Israel's newly-constructed underground concrete sensory barrier, Israel Defense Forces Gaza Division Commander Nimrod Aloni said in a video statement. According to the Israeli military, the tunnel did not pose a threat to Israeli communities in the area near Gaza.
Aloni added the tunnel had been "neutralized" in May 2021 during an Israeli military operation against Hamas but was being restored with two routes toward Israel.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said that the Israeli media reports of the discovery of a tunnel north of Gaza were "aimed to cover the Israeli crimes committed in Gaza," adding the Palestinians are entitled to resist the Israeli occupation "with all means possible."
The announcement came about a week after Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza reached an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire deal, ending three days of fighting between the two warring sides which have killed at least 49 Palestinians. ■
