SECRET TUNNEL USED FOR KIDNAPPING IN EGYPT

The Israeli military said Sunday it discovered a concrete-lined tunnel dug from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into Israel, alleging militants planned to use it to attack or kidnap Israelis.

In response, the military froze the transfer of all construction materials to the Palestinian territory, the army said. A Hamas military spokesman in Gaza, Abu Obeida, was defiant over the tunnel discovery, saying on his official Twitter account that “thousands” more tunnels would be dug out.

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza for six years, has dug tunnels into Israel in the past. In 2006, a year before seizing power, Hamas-allied militants sneaked into Israel through one suchtunnel, killed two Israeli soldiers and kidnapped a third, holding him hostage in Gaza for five years.

According to the Israeli military, the latest tunnel stretches 1.7 kilometers (a little more than one mile) and appears to have been recently dug and in use until its discovery last week.

“The tunnel is extremely advanced and well prepared” Brig. Gen. Mickey Edelstein, commander of Gaza Strip division, told reporters. “Massive amount of concrete and cement have been used to build thistunnel.”

Military officials said it opened some 180 meters (600 feet) inside Israeli territory and had two exits in an open area. The exits were roughly one mile from an Israeli communal village, making Israeli civilians potential targets.

The military invited journalists into the tunnel, dug some 18 meters (60 feet) underground and roughly 1.8meters (nearly six feet) high. Concrete walls and arches lined the tunnel and electrical cords could be seen along its walls. The military also showed empty food wrappers, work gloves and an axe-like digging tool it said it had found inside. One of the cookie wrappers was dated June 2013, indicating that workers had been inside in recent months.

The military said it was the third tunnel found along the Gaza border fence in the past year. It estimated that 500 tons of cement and concrete were used, and the structure took more than a year to build. It said the tunnel was detected during a routine patrol, and that Hamas blew up the Gaza side of the tunnel after figuring out that Israel had detected it.

The military said it waited a week to publicize the discovery because a search for explosives was underway. The army said an elite engineering corps was sent into the tunnel, but would not say whether explosives were found.

Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies. Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, and since it took power, thousands of rockets have been fired into Israel. Israel carried out major military operations in 2009 and last year in Gaza in response to rocket fire. While various militant groups operate in Gaza, Israel says it holds Hamas responsible. The sides largely have observed a cease-fire since last November.