Israel Destroys Major Islamic Jihad Terror Tunnel; Recovers Laptops, Weapons

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) scored a major victory in recent days in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, where soldiers discovered and demolished six terror tunnels that included weapons and valuable troves of intelligence.

One of the tunnels is considered the “flagship” tunnel of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an Iran-backed terror group that fights alongside Hamas.

The Times of Israel reported Tuesday:

One of the destroyed tunnels is considered by the IDF to be Islamic Jihad’s “flagship” tunnel in Gaza City. The recently discovered 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) tunnel was used by the terror group for command and control, according to military assessments. Troops found laptops, weaponry, and intelligence material inside, indicating it was still being used by the terror group recently.

The operation carried out by the 98th Division in Shejaiya, launched on June 27, came after the IDF said it had identified Hamas operatives regrouping in the area, as well as new intelligence on the terror group’s existing infrastructure.

The IDF also issued a video of the demolition of one of the tunnels, along with a statement:

For more than a week, the Paratroopers Brigade, the 7th Brigade and the Yahalom Unit have been fighting both above and below ground in the Shejaiya area under the command of the 98th Division.

The soldiers of the division engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorist cells and eliminated more than 150 terrorists, dismantled terrorist infrastructure and encountered and destroyed booby-trapped buildings and explosives. In addition, the soldiers located dozens of weapons and intelligence documents that the terrorists left behind.

As a result of intelligence and engineering efforts, the soldiers located tunnel shafts and significant tunnel routes. In the division-level operation, six terror tunnels, about six kilometers long, were located and destroyed. The soldiers continue to examine and destroy the tunnels in the area.

During the examination of the tunnels, the soldiers of the Yahalom Unit located underground tunnels consisting of a branched tunnel system. In some of the branches, terrorists’ hideouts and control and command centers were located. In one of the tunnels, weapons and intelligence documents were located.

Gaza City is in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and was the focus of IDF operations in the early weeks of the war. Though the IDF shifted its focus southward, the IDF has returned to the city several times to deal with terrorists who have returned to the area, often using the terror tunnels.

The U.S. State Department offered the IDF a backhanded compliment on Monday when it said that the damage to Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, had not been as great as in other areas, or as the Biden administration had anticipated.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said: “We believe the IDF’s done a remarkable job in Rafah.” He added that Hamas wanted more civilian casualties there: “They’re upset that more Palestinians have not been killed.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.