Israel Dismantles Terror Tunnels in Gaza

Latest Developments

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dismantled two underground tunnels in Gaza operated by Palestinian terrorist organizations, according to an IDF statement on April 29. The tunnels were located in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, close to the Israeli border. The IDF noted that Hamas and Islamic Jihad (PIJ) controlled the tunnels, which they used to collect “continuous intelligence” and undertake “technological surveillance.” The tunnels were demolished in recent weeks, according to the IDF. The IDF has focused on dismantling hundreds of miles of terror tunnels in Gaza since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. Israel has destroyed more than 4,000 terror infrastructure targets in Gaza.

Expert Analysis

“The dismantling of more terror tunnels in Gaza is an important step to defeating Hamas and ridding the Gaza strip of hundreds of miles of terror tunnels and other terrorist infrastructure. Hamas exploited its rule over Gaza to build the equivalent of an underground terror city in Gaza that it used to rain rockets down on Israel and launch the October 7 massacre.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow

“More than six months into the war, the IDF continues to discover tunnels in areas where it has extensively operated. Despite the progress the Israeli military is making above ground, it will take many more months, perhaps years, for the IDF to fully expose and dismantle the labyrinth of tunnels hidden beneath Gaza.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Rocket Fire Targets Sderot, Ashdod

Terrorists in Gaza fired rockets at Israeli cities on April 29, causing sirens to sound in Sderot, the closest Israeli city to Gaza. The Iranian-backed PIJ claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA. Two rockets were also launched from Gaza toward the Israeli city of Ashdod, home to a large port where aid is being delivered from Cyprus to Gaza. The IDF responded to the rocket fire with airstrikes targeting “operational tunnel shafts, an anti-tank missile launch post and terror infrastructure from which a launch toward the city of Sderot was identified,” the IDF said. Two IDF soldiers were killed in fighting in central Gaza, bringing the total number of Israeli security forces killed to 608 since the Hamas attack began on October 7, 263 of whom have fallen since the IDF launched its ground operation in Gaza on October 27.

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