Tel Aviv: Spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that dozens of large underground tunnels have been found along the Gaza-Egypt border area.
Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesperson, said that the forces had located the tunnels, some big enough for vehicles to pass through, on the “Philadelphia Axis”.
“In recent times, the forces of the 162nd Division and the forces of the Yalam unit have been working to locate and destroy underground tunnels in the Philadelphia area. So far, the forces have located and destroyed dozens of tunnels,” he said in a post on X.
“The IDF is thoroughly investigating and neutralising the underground route that was found, as well as other large-scale tunnels that were discovered,” he added.
The operations in the area started last week after a three-metre-long tunnel was discovered on the route. The Israeli military suspected that Hamas was smuggling weapons through this route in the area.
Earlier in May, the IDF located 20 tunnels that cross into neighbouring Egypt.
The IDF released a video showing rocket launchers that were discovered by the security personnel along the Gaza-Egypt border.
On Saturday, an Israeli security delegation arrived in Cairo to resume Gaza ceasefire talks.
Since the Gaza conflict broke out in October 2023, Egypt, along with mediators from the United States and Qatar, has been working to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the governing body in Gaza.
The latest round of ceasefire negotiation among senior officials from Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and the US was adjourned last weekend, several hours after it began in Rome, with no apparent progress reported.
Israel launched a large-scale offensive in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border, last October.
(IANS)
