The IDF moved its base out of the Erez Crossing because of intelligence warnings that terrorists have dug tunnels and were preparing to use them to stage a devastating attack on Israeli personnel, a senior army officer told the Walla Hebrew news website. Gaza Belt communities have accused the IDF of abandoning them by moving the military personnel to the Julis base, near Ashkelon.

The unnamed officer said that intelligence officials informed the IDF that terrorists have been building a tunnel underneath the Erez base. They intended to set off explosives and possibly kidnap soldiers and civilians. Officials last year warned the government that terrorists have built an entire underground system of tunnels throughout the Gaza region, copying the tactics used by Hizbullah terrorists in southern Lebanon.