Israel destroys Hamas cross-border tunnel: army

JERUSALEM, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israel said Sunday it destroyed a Hamas "terror tunnel" that stretched from the Gaza Strip, through Israel, and into Egypt, running underneath a military post and a gas pipeline.

The bombing of the tunnel was carried out near Kerem Shalom, a border crossing for transfer of goods into Gaza, in the area of the crossing on the Israeli side, the military said in a statement.

The tunnel belongs to Hamas, the Islamist organization that runs Gaza, it said.

"The tunnel was located using combined technological, intelligence and operational capabilities. Since its discovery the tunnel was monitored up until its destruction," the statement read.

The military sees the tunnel as "a severe breach of Israel's sovereignty."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the tunnel was a "main Hamas infrastructure."

The recent strike was the fourth time Israel has bombed and destroyed a cross-border tunnel since November 2017.

The strike came amidst an escalation between Gaza and Israel following U.S. President Donald Trump recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Dec. 6 last year.

The escalation includes protests along the fence between Israel and Gaza, in which at least 13 people have been killed, according to local media, and some 40 rockets that Gaza militants launched at Israel.

The rockets were launched by Salafi groups and the Islamic Jihad, but the military maintains that Hamas should be held responsible for any hostility from the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The military said that it has no intention to further escalate the situation but will "continue to act against any violation of Israeli sovereignty."

"The IDF remains prepared for a wide variety of scenarios," the statement read. It will "continue its efforts above and below ground to thwart any attempts to harm Israeli civilians."

Protective Edge was a 51-day military campaign in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014, during which Israel killed at least 2,251 people in Gaza, mainly civilians, according to the United Nations figures. At the same time, 67 Israeli soldiers and four civilians were killed in Israel during the battles. Enditem