The operation in Gaza has expanded to keep the pressure on Hamas’s tunnel infrastructure, says IDF spokesman Lt.-Col. Peter Lerner.
The majority of the fighting is in the northern Gaza Strip, he says.
“Hamas is really trying to defend their infrastructure and much of the contact is in and around the tunnel areas,” Lerner explains.
Two tunnels have been fully demolished, one reaching toward Kibbutz Zikim and the other toward Kibbutz Netiv Ha’asarah north of the Gaza Strip.
One of three tunnels that were discovered by soldiers from the Nahal Brigade in the Gaza Strip on July 19, 2014 Photo credit: IDF Spokesperson/Flash90)
Fourteen other tunnels are being explored. Most of the tunnels found before operation were near Kerem Shalom in the south, but now most are in northern Gaza Strip. This shows the extent of the tunnel infrastructure, says Lerner.
He described the infrastructure as “an entire underground Gaza.”
There has also been an increase of troops on the ground, according to Lerner.
— Mitch Ginsburg
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