Israel’s military said today that it had discovered during its attack “the largest tunnel” ever built by Hamas under the Gaza Strip, emerging just a few hundred meters from its territory.

An AFP photographer who received permission to go to the site found that its dimensions are such that small vehicles can drive through it.

“This massive network of tunnels, divided into several branches, stretches for more than four kilometers and reaches just 400 meters from the Erez crossing” between Israel and the northern part of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said in a statement.

Israeli forces say it cost millions of euros and took years to build under the direction of Mohammed Sinwar, the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader believed to be the architect of the October 7 attack.

The tunnel has a piping system, electricity, ventilation, sewers, communication networks and railway lines. Its soil is made of clay and its walls of reinforced concrete, except for its opening, where it is reinforced by a metal cylinder about one and a half centimeters in diameter.

The Israeli military claims to have discovered a large number of weapons ready for use in the event of an attack by Hamas.

“Hamas has consistently and deliberately invested enormous amounts of money and resources into terrorist tunnels that have one and only one purpose: to attack the State of Israel and its people,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman.

“This strategic network of attack tunnels (…) was therefore constructed near a crossing point intended to allow Gazans to cross into Israel to work and receive medical care,” he added.

“For Hamas, attacking the people of Israel is still a priority over supporting the people of Gaza,” he said.

Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip killed an estimated 1,140 people, according to Israel, which immediately vowed to “wipe out” the militant group and launched an attack on Palestinian territory, killing at least 18,800 people. according to the latest Hamas government tally.

The so-called “Gaza Metro” by the Israeli military, a labyrinthine network of tunnels, originally served to circumvent the blockade imposed by Israel after Hamas took power in the area in 2007.

Hundreds of tunnels were built under the Egyptian Sinai border for the movement of people, goods, weapons and ammunition between Gaza and the outside world.

In a study published on October 17, the Institute of Modern Warfare of the US military academy West Point speaks of 1,300 galleries in an area of ​​500 kilometers.

The Israeli military reported in early December that it had discovered more than 800 shafts leading to tunnels, 500 of which had been destroyed.