Chief of Staff at site of Hamas tunnel
Chief of Staff at site of Hamas tunnelIDF spokesperson

A senior Israeli official revealed on Monday that Israel has halted all transfers of building material to Gaza as part of the ongoing effort to disrupt the construction of terror tunnels by Hamas.

The report came just hours after the IDF announced the discovery of a terror tunnel leading into Israel from Gaza.

The official estimated that given the discovery, Hamas would most likely be unable to launch any surprise operations against Israel in the near future.

“Hamas is experiencing difficulties with their tunnels collapsing. We bested Hamas in Operation Protective Edge and ruined their plans,” the official said.

The official emphasized that Israel was not looking to escalate tensions with Hamas.

“As far as they’re concerned they penetrated into Israeli territory and thought that the situation had changed. This isn’t new. What’s new are our capabilities used in locating [the tunnels]. There are wide ranging operations to ensure the security of Israel and integrity of its borders.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the discovery of the terror tunnel was a major victory for Israel.

Now, Netanyahu said, “Gaza-area residents can relax."

“I’m sure that Hamas knows and understands that we’ll respond with overwhelming force if we’re attacked, if our soldiers are attacked from underground [tunnels] or anywhere else. We’ve created a kind of defense that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.”