Hamas has dug 15 tunnels linking Gaza to Israel: Media

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM (AA) - Hamas fighters have dug at least 15 tunnels extending into Israeli territory from the blockaded Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Sunday citing unnamed government officials.

Israel's Channel 2 news reported that the new cross-border tunnels had been built in the almost three years since Israel’s 2014 military onslaught against Gaza, when the Israeli army destroyed 34 tunnels that it said had been used by Hamas to stage attacks inside Israel.

Since the conflict in mid-2014, the Israeli military has carried out sporadic incursions into the blockaded coastal enclave to destroy Hamas-built tunnels, leading to heightened tension in May of last year when Israeli forces exchanged fire with Hamas fighters near the border.

Last September, Israel began work on an underground barrier along its perimeter with Gaza in an attempt to prevent tunnels from reaching into Israeli territory.

Meanwhile, a state-level report on Israeli government decision-making during the 2014 conflict -- expected to be released this week -- is rumored to be highly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the operation.

Former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon wrote on Facebook this week that criticisms that he and Netanyahu had failed to adequately prepare for the war -- or consult with others in government -- was “nonsense”.