The Israel Defense Forces announced that they had sealed a 7-kilometer underground tunnel used by the Palestinian armed group "Hamas" in the northern Gaza Strip, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The operation in the area of the town of Beit Hanoun involved filling the tunnel with more than 20,000 cubic meters of sealing material, according to a statement published on the Israeli army's website.
In the years since it took control of the Gaza Strip in 2006, "Hamas" created an extensive network of underground tunnels that crisscross the entire coastal enclave, which is 45 kilometers long and 6 to 14 kilometers wide. Colloquially called the "Gaza Metro", before the war began, the tunnel system was believed to have had a total length of at least 500 kilometers, DPA notes.
"Hamas" fighters and other groups have used the tunnels for smuggling and to carry out attacks, including on October 7, 2023, when they launched an unprecedented attack on towns and kibbutzim in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.
The Israeli leadership believes that some of the remaining hostages are still in the tunnels under Gaza City and under refugee camps in the central part of the enclave.