Israel destroys Gaza tunnel

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli forces destroyed a tunnel inside the blockaded Gaza Strip which extended into Israeli territory, the military said Monday.

In a statement, an army spokesman said the military neutralized the tunnel in Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip.

It said it held Hamas, which governs Gaza, responsible for "all hostile activity" but added that it did not want any escalation in violence to arise from the incident.

The tunnel's destruction comes days before Hamas is expected to hand over control of Gaza's borders to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of attempts to end a decade-long split between Hamas and the PA's leading Fatah faction.

A key sticking point of the reconciliation talks between the two sides has been whether Hamas will disarm its sizeable military wing, a demand which has been made by Israel and the U.S.