Following the discovery and destruction of the longest and deepest terror tunnel extending into Israeli territory, over the weekend, the IDF revealed a new “laboratory,” where it employs advanced technology to detect tunnels, The Times of Israel reported Sunday. The tunnel was the fifth detected and destroyed in recent months.
The laboratory, which is run by Captain B, who has a background in both electrical engineering and chemistry, has been responsible for locating and destroying five terror tunnels in recent months.
The most recently discovered tunnel was deemed “ready for use” by the IDF, and because it was part of a system of tunnels, potentially could have been used by a large number of terrorists to infiltrate Israel, according to an Israeli news report.
Some military sources hypothesized that the recent Hamas-led riots in the area were orchestrated to divert attention from the tunnels, reflecting the terror group’s complete military and political control of Gaza. According to the news report, Hamas, has switched to riots following the successful deployment of Iron Dome to negate the threat of rockets, and the laboratory, which has been thwarting Hamas’s attempts to launch an underground raid against Israel.
The IDF plans to have sensors deployed all around the perimeter of Gaza by the end of next year. Israel’s defense system to protect against infiltrations from Gaza, which will include both above ground and underground barriers, is estimated to cost some $3.5 billion.
While the laboratory doesn’t “offer any kind of X-ray” allowing the IDF to see everything Hamas is building underground, the technologies employed continue to improve. According to the television report, just as Iron Dome is a lot more effective now than when it was first deployed, Israel’s tunnel defense is much-improved since it was first instituted two years ago.
Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that Israel is now the “world leader” in defending borders. The United States has even invested $120 million in Israeli technology to detect underground activity to protect the border with Mexico.
The recently destroyed tunnel was detected using new technologies developed at the laboratory to combat terror tunnels.
“This was clearly a terror tunnel that connected to other tunnels in the Gaza Strip,” IDF Spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said. “It extended into Israel and violated Israeli sovereignty.”
The army had been monitoring the tunnel system and decided to act when the tunnel crossed into Israeli territory, “tens of meters” from the southern Israeli community of Nahal Oz. The Hamas tunnel diggers were attempting to construct an exit to the tunnel when the IDF destroyed it.
“The violent riots that have been taking place in the area of the security fence are an attempt to mask the terror attacks intended to take place above & below ground,” the IDF Spokesperson tweeted.
[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / YouTube ]