JERUSALEM (AP) – The Israeli military discovered a tunnel Thursday stretching from the southern Gaza Strip into Israel, built by Palestinian militants to carry out attacks on Israel, the military said.
The military announced the discovery amid a new escalation in violence with Gaza militants. Earlier Thursday, the military said it launched airstrikes on four Hamas targets in response to mortar rounds fired at Israel. Fighting in recent days is among some of the most serious instances of violence between Gaza and Israel since a 50-day war in the summer of 2014.
Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk said Egypt and Qatar have intervened to try to restore calm.
Last month, Israel discovered and destroyed another tunnel dug from Gaza into Israel. The two tunnels are the first to be found since the 2014 Gaza war, sparking concerns in Israel that Hamas is rebuilding its underground tunnel network in preparation for another conflagration. Toward the end of the 2014 war, Israel destroyed more than 30 tunnels Hamas had dug under the border. Hamas militants had used the tunnels to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks.
The tunnel found Thursday is about 29 meters (95 feet) underground, the army said, and it is unclear whether it is a newly dug tunnel or an older tunnel Israel had hit and that had been repaired. It was discovered by soldiers on the Gaza side of the border fence in a 100-meter zone that Israel operates in. Israeli forces are still operating in that zone on the Gaza side of the border fence, the army said.