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Amid growing international pressure for a ceasefire, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday it had uncovered a massive Hamas tunnel system located just 400 meters from the Erez crossing. The tunnel is more than four kilometers long and is large enough for small vehicles to use, news agency AFP reported.
Israel said the tunnel cost millions of dollars and took years to build. This included rail, electricity, drainage and a communications network.
“Hamas’s largest terrorist tunnel discovered. This huge tunnel system extends for four kilometers (2.5 miles). Its entrance is located only 400 meters (1,310 ft) from the Erez crossing – which Gazans use daily to enter Israel for work and medical treatment in Israeli hospitals,” Israel’s military said in a statement. Formerly known as Twitter) said in a post.
“This tunnel system was a project led by Mohammed Sinwar, brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis battalion,” it said.
This comes as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu again vowed amid stern warnings from US President Joe Biden that “we will fight to the end. We will achieve all our goals – eliminating Hamas, freeing all our hostages and Ensuring that Gaza will not again become a center of terrorism.
Meanwhile, France called for an “immediate and lasting” ceasefire, stressing that “too many civilians are being killed.” Britain and Germany also expressed regret over the large-scale civilian deaths in the war. .
“Calling for a general and immediate ceasefire now, hoping that it somehow becomes permanent… ignores why Israel is forced to defend itself: Hamas brutally attacks Israel and Israel still fires rockets every day to kill civilians. Hamas must surrender its weapons, Britain and Germany said in a statement.
In Gaza, officials said more than 18,800 people had been killed, mostly women and children, while in Israel, Hamas’ October 7 offensive killed 1,139 people, mostly civilians, while the militant group said the number of victims was 1,000,000, according to updated Israeli figures. According to him, about 250 people were kidnapped.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if people started dying of hunger or a combination of hunger, disease, weakened immunity,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).
The World Health Organization (WHO) described the region’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, as a “bloodbath, with hundreds of injured patients inside, and new patients arriving every minute”.
“Trauma patients were being stitched up on the floor, while thousands of displaced people were using hospital buildings and grounds for shelter amid acute shortages of water and food,” WHO said.
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Published: 17 Dec 2023, 11:57 PM IST
