The Israeli military carried out its deadliest attack in the Gaza Strip in about a year early Friday morning when an aircraft bombed a tunnel.
The military described the tunnel as a “terror tunnel” used by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas, the Associated Press reports. Hamas said three fighters were killed in the strike.
The Friday morning strike reportedly occurred in response to an explosion late Thursday that wounded five Israeli soldiers who were destroying the infrastructure of another tunnel that led Hamas into Israel. Another Hamas fighter was killed when Israeli troops opened fire in that incident.
The Israeli military discovered a mile-long tunnel from Hamas to Israel last month, and similar tunnels were found in 2006. The Israeli military says the destruction of the tunnel would going to prevent future attacks since the opening of the tunnel was near civilian communities.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the latest attacks “gave a painful lesson” to Israel.
“Gaza will be the land of hell” for Israel, he said on Friday.
[AP]