“We have dozens, if not a hundred, engineering vehicles on the Gaza border”, Eisenkot said.
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The statement did not provide details on the accusations against him other than to say that “the Brigades’ military and Islamic judicial committee issued the sentence because he violated rules and ethics”.
Eelier this week, a spokesman for Hamas movement’s armed wing al-Qassam Brigades had said that his group would carry on with preparations and boosting its power for any possible battle with Israel.
Eizenkot touched on the option of Israel carrying out a preemptive strike on Gaza before Hamas might attack Israel, saying only that preemptive action was “being discussed in the places where it needs to be discussed”.
Israeli drills search for fighting tunnels on the Israel and Gaza border, seen in the background, February 3.
Since the crackdown on the tunnels, Hamas has accused Egypt of “besieging Gaza” since the army has flooded the remaining tunnels.
Israeli Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz has said that Egypt’s new policy of flooding the tunnels between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula with seawater had come at Israel’s request. They fear that Hamas is about to use the tunnels to attack Israel, unleashing another round of bloodshed.
The man was killed “as a result of a collapse of a mass of sand” inside a tunnel previously used to smuggle goods, a security source said.
The recent collapse of tunnels is largely due to heavy rainfall; but it is also an indication of the rushed Hamas operation to extend and complete its underground network before the tunnels are detected (and destroyed) by new Israeli sensors being developed and installed. Al-Qassam Brigades have even showcased some of their capabilities in reports and documentaries on their website and on TV stations such as Al Jazeera and Al Mayadeen, revealing the fighters’ ability to directly target Israeli soldiers. Hamas says it needs the tunnels to defend itself against Israeli firepower.
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“The rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli towns affect Israel, but the Iron Dome reduced their impact”.
