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Hamas dug tunnels in Gaza twice more than in Vietnam: Haneya

Xinhua, January 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ismail Haneya, the deputy chief of Hamas unveiled Friday that his Islamic movement's armed wing al-Qassam Brigades has dug tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip twice time more than in Vietnam.

Haneya's remarks were made in public during the funeral of seven Hamas militants, who were found dead on Thursday in a tunnel northeast of Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel that collapsed on Tuesday.

"Al-Qassam dug the tunnels under Gaza to defend Gaza and its populations in order to be a starting point for the big battle of the liberation of all Palestine," said Haneya, adding "Gaza and the armed resistance (Hamas) are powerful and stronger than before."

Since 2008, Israel waged three large-scale military offensives on the Gaza Strip to rein on the military abilities of Hamas and other minor militant groups; the largest offensive was in the summer of 2014 and lasted for 50 days.

Haneya said the seven militants were not hiding in the tunnels or escaping from anything, "they were preparing for attacking their enemy and preparing for the upcoming battle.

Hamas had violently seized control of the coastal enclave in the summer of 2007, one year after it ousted secular President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party in the parliamentary elections held in the Palestinian territories in 2006. Endit