ISRAELI troops have found the biggest Hamas tunnel under Gaza yet — stretching almost three miles and reaching more than 150ft underground.
The entrance sits 400 yards from the Erez border crossing and is thought to have been used by terrorists fleeing back after slaughtering 1,200 people on October 7.
Huge boring equipment was smuggled into the Strip to build the sophisticated network of tunnels, with ventilation, electricity and hefty blast doors.
Israel Defence Forces said it did not find the latest one — big enough to drive a vehicle through — before the October massacre because it stops short of crossing from Gaza into Israel.
They say it was built on the orders of Mohammad Sinwar, the brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
IDF spokesman Major Nir Dinar said: “It’s no surprise that this was the Hamas strategy all along.
“The surprise is that they have succeeded — and the size of this tunnel was really shocking.”
The discovery came as Israel again criticised the use of innocent Palestinians as human shields by Hamas.
Footage showed Israeli forces rescuing a family after militants had used their residential block to launch attacks.
Lt Col Richard Hecht said: “We’re in an absurd reality where Hamas terrorists hide behind their own citizens while we help them move to safety.”
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IDF troops gained control of central Khan Younis in southern Gaza today after days of intense battles.
Meanwhile, the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza today opened for aid trucks for the first time since the outbreak of war.
It means the number of lorries going into southern Gaza from there and at the Rafah crossing from Egypt will now double to 200 a day.
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Robin Perrie
