The IDF has announced the discovery and destruction of a second tunnel dug underneath Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, following one disclosed earlier this week that had been built to open up near a kindergarten which authorities believe Palestinian terrorists intended to target. The new tunnel stretched dozens of yards into Israel, and Hamas terrorists may have intended to pack it with explosives in the process of launching a spectacular attack. Veteran Israeli war correspondent Ron Ben Yishai suggested that the tunnel indicates ongoing efforts by Hamas to conduct terrorism against Israelis, an evaluation that aligns with the worries of analysts who worry that the Iran-backed terror group may be trying to halt a slide in its stature by conducting a spectacular terror attack.

Hamas resorted to this method of terror after realizing that it had pretty much exhausted the possibilities of rocket, mortar and even missile attacks. Hamas discovered the potential of these tunnels as a means of carrying out terror attacks during the second intifada, when the IDF still held positions in Gaza. Such tunnels were used to carry out the underground attack on an army position in the Kerem Shalom area and on at least one other IDF post in the area.

[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / IDF blog]