Underground tunnels more than four kilometers long were destroyed, and dozens of terrorists were eliminated in the Yellow Line area in the northern Gaza Strip to destroy above-ground and below-ground terrorist infrastructure in the Jabaliya, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia areas in recent months, the IDF said.
In addition, the forces located approximately 10 mortar bombs hidden inside a children’s blanket in a residential building in the Beit Hanoun area.
This is not the first time the IDF has found Hamas weapons concealed in this way. For example, in January, soldiers discovered a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) hidden in a child’s bed in the Jabalya area of Gaza.
The Yellow Line marks the areas where Israeli forces are continuing to operate under the Gaza ceasefire agreement: Israel controls everything to the east, north, and south of the line, and Hamas and other terrorists are prohibited from crossing it.
Hamas has used tunnels inside Gaza since the 1980s for smuggling from Egypt and later for offensive operations into Israel.
During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, the IDF said it destroyed 32 cross-border offensive tunnels but did not target the internal grid, which remained the backbone of Hamas’ military operations.
IDF shoots down two smuggling drones
An IAF combat helicopter shot down two drones that had illegally crossed into Israeli territory from the west, the IDF confirmed on Thursday.
IDF observation posts and the IAF aerial control center in the area identified the entry of two drones as a smuggling attempt, the military explained.