IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari on Sunday night responded to the newly-declassified reports on Hamas' largest underground terror tunnel discovered thus far in Gaza.
The operation to expose the tunnel was led by soldiers from the Yahalom Unit, infantry forces, and special units under led by the IDF’s Gaza Division and the Northern Brigade.
Hagari explained, "This is an intricate underground network of tunnels, into which millions of dollars were invested, and was built with the participation of dozens of terrorists. Muhammad Sinwar, the brother of Yahya Sinwar, personally led this project."
"So far, we have uncovered more than four kilometres of the tunnel route - a flagship project of Hamas. It reaches a depth of fifty meters underground. Inside the tunnels, we found many weapons. The tunnel did not cross into Israeli territory and was dug near the Erez Crossing, a place that enabled thousands of Palestinians to cross for employment and urgent medical treatment. On October 7th, Hamas chose to attack and massacre in it - at this crossing that was a symbol of hope for Palestinians. This was Hamas' choice."
Hagari emphasized, "This is not a regular tunnel. It is a city. A city of terror underground that Hamas dug and built instead of investing money in the residents of Gaza."
"The exposed tunnel was used, among other things, for offensive operations against our forces in the Gaza Strip. A few days ago, terrorists in the tunnel were identified and eliminated by IDF troops. We have published photos of that elimination. We will continue to expose Hamas's underground terror cities, and soon we will expose additional underground cities that we will handle, eliminate terrorists in, and destroy."
Responding to Hamas' insistence that there will only be a prisoner swap if Israel ends the war, Hagari said, "Today, senior Hamas officials declared the return of hostages possible, only with an immediate cease of the ground operation. It's important for me to clarify – the IDF is determined to dismantle Hamas, and our forces continue to operate courageously and forcefully throughout the Gaza Strip."
"Hamas's statements regarding the hostages prove that Hamas is worse than ISIS. Who else holds - who holds for bargaining - women, children, the elderly, the sick, and civilians - other than a murderous terrorist organization like Hamas?
"We have a moral duty to do everything – everything to bring back all the hostages home, and we continue to act, with all our intelligence and operational efforts, and with all our might to achieve this goal."
Regarding the Friday incident in which three hostages were killed by IDF soldiers, after being mistaken for terrorists, he said, "We still don't know how long they were in the building. We are examining another building they may have been in. We continue to investigate the incident, to learn the lessons."
"Our hearts and thoughts are with the families in their difficult time," he stressed.
Regarding the security situation on the Israel-Lebanon border, he said, "In the north, we attacked a series of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon - a military site, weapons, and observation posts. In addition, we attacked a terrorist cell in Lebanese territory."
"Since the beginning of the war, we have attacked over 120 terrorist cells. Southern Lebanon today is a combat zone, and will continue to be one as long as Hezbollah continues to be deployed there and attack from within. The citizens of southern Lebanon know this and will feel our attacks so long as Hezbollah is deployed in this area - it will be a combat zone."
Hagari warned, "I call on the public to continue to adhere to the updated instructions and to emphasize, even when rockets are not fired, Hamas still has capabilities, and we are required to adhere to the Home Front Command's instructions."
"Following this, there were publications about an IDF document supposedly allowing people to return to live in the southern communities – it's a draft that wasn't approved. The issue is still being examined in collaboration with leaders of the southern communities. So far, no decision has been made on the matter, we will officially update the public when we decide - we need to wait patiently, it will be in coordination with the civilian leadership."