IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot said the army is operating to counter the threat of Hamas terror tunnels, while preparing for all developments and eventualities.
The IDF’s Chief of Staff said that its number one mission is to counter the threat posed by Hamas’ attack tunnels emanating from Gaza.
Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot said Tuesday that Gaza’s Hamas rulers have been rebuilding the sophisticated network of underground tunnels that Israel damaged during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.
Eisenkot said destroying this network is the IDF’s top priority for 2016, adding that it is not deceived by the relative quiet along the Israel-Gaza border.
He said that the IDF is deploying several methods to counter the threat, many of them not apparent to the public.
“We are doing a lot, but many of [these methods] are hidden from the public. We have dozens, if not a hundred, engineering vehicles on the Gaza border,” Eisenkot stated.
Israeli forces destroyed more than 30 tunnels during the war that Hamas built to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks. Hamas has since boasted it has rebuilt its network.
Hamas says at least 12 of its men died the past month in tunnel collapses.
Regarding the wave of Palestinian attacks, Eisenkot placed much of the blame on incitement by the Palestinian leadership and media, and the weakening of a central Arab leadership.
He also said he saw no end to the wave of violence in the near future.
By: AP and United with Israel Staff
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