TEL AVIV, December 20. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces said it found and destroyed three tunnels running for a total of about 7.5 kilometers in Gaza.

According to the IDF, the tunnels, which lay at the depth of 10 meters, were located in the Beit Lahiya area in the north of the enclave.

Found in one of the tunnels was Israeli military equipment that Palestinian radicals seized during their October 7, 2023 attack, along with maps of Israeli southern border communities, the IDF said. The tunnels also contained weapons and living quarters.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7, accompanied by killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking hostages, including children, women and elderly people. In response, Israel started an operation against Hamas in Gaza, with hostilities continuing to this day.