JERUSALEM, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military announced Tuesday that it has uncovered a cross-border tunnel entering Israel from the Palestinian coastal enclave of Gaza Strip.
The underground tunnel, discovered inside the Israeli territory, was dug from Khan Younis, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The IDF has so far uncovered about 20 such tunnels in recent years, the last one over a year ago.
A major war was fought between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Israel in 2014. One of the main reasons for the war was the discovery of several cross-border tunnels built by Gaza militants, posing threat to the safety of Israeli communities adjacent to the border.
The latest discovery of the tunnel was enabled by the new technology used by the IDF.
"It was located by the sensory concrete barrier that is being built in order to indicate and stop such tunnels," said Jonathan Conricus, the IDF spokesperson, in a briefing to reporters.
"Our ability to detect the tunnels shows our technological abilities, which is very important, especially for the surrounding communities," Conricus said.
"We see the Hamas as responsible for anything coming out of the Gaza Strip," the IDF spokesperson said.
In recent days, Israeli media reported that there has been progress in the cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas. Hamas seeks to ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip which has been imposed by Israel for over a decade.
Over the weekend, militants in Gaza fired a rocket into Israeli territory. There were no casualties and, in a rare occurrence, the Israeli military did not retaliate.
