fbpx

News

Report: Hamas digging six miles of Gaza tunnels each month

[ssba]

A leading Israeli news agency reports that Hamas is digging at least six miles of underground tunnels each month, as it re-develops a subterranean network with which to attack Israel.

The Channel Two report quoted unnamed Israeli officials who said that Hamas is constantly increasing its tunnel capacity and that they have “no perfect solution,” adding that “neither does any other country”.

The report comes amid public and political debate over whether the government was sufficiently prepared for Operation Protective Edge in 2014, in particular for the threat of tunnels. The tunnels were used to attack Israeli positions beyond the Gaza border and to shield the Hamas leadership.

During the last week, the families of soldiers killed during Operation Protective Edge have called for a state commission of inquiry to investigate the government’s handling of the conflict. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied that such an inquiry is necessary. He told military correspondents on Monday that the conflict was “not the Second Lebanon War,” after which a state commission of inquiry found a number of deficiencies at the political and military level.

However, Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett has appeared to support the families’ request, saying: “Learning lessons is a sign of power and self-confidence”.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, who was finance minister during the conflict, has also fuelled the debate telling Channel Two that Netanyahu “did not speak the truth” when he said that the threat of Hamas’s attack tunnels had been discussed by the security cabinet ahead of the operation.

The State Comptroller has completed a draft report into the government’s handling of the conflict and distributed it to the relevant officials. It is expected to be published in the coming weeks. Maariv reports this morning that the State Comptroller has warned that any attempt to classify his report will prompt him to ask for a state commission of inquiry. Israel Hayom says that Netanyahu is in favour of full public disclosure.