Hamas downplays Gaza tunnel discovery by Israel
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GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories – A Hamas official on Dec 18 said one of the group’s tunnels revealed by the Israeli army in Gaza had “successfully” accomplished its mission, downplaying the Israeli announcement of its discovery.
On Dec 17, the Israeli army showed images of what it said was the biggest Hamas tunnel uncovered so far under the Gaza Strip, near the Erez crossing between the Palestinian territory and Israel.
The army said the subterranean passage had formed part of a wider branching network that stretched for more than 4km.
Israel said the tunnel cost millions of dollars and took years to construct, featuring rails, electricity, drainage and a communications network.
“The publishing of images of the long tunnel... 72 days after the start of the (Israeli) aggression, came too late,” Mr Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, told a news conference in Beirut.
“Thanks to this tunnel, the mission that we wanted to accomplish has been carried out successfully,” Mr Hamdan said without elaborating.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a deadly war since Oct 7, when the militant group carried out a brutal attack that left about 1,140 people dead in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Some 250 people were also taken to the Gaza Strip as hostages during the attack. Of these, 129 are still being held captive there, according to the Israeli authorities.
In Israel’s retaliatory assault against Hamas in Gaza, at least 19,453 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. AFP
