The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims it has uncovered 30 tunnels in Gaza since the abduction of Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit on June 25.
Military sources said most of the tunnels were uncovered on the Philadelphi Route, a strip of land along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
The tunnels are used by Palestinian armed groups to smuggle anti-tank weapons, standard TNT explosives, Kalashnikov rifles and terrorists from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, the sources said.
In addition, the army has blown up 50 weapons storehouses since Hamas came to power in March.
The army has been operating in Gaza since June to secure Shalit’s release, and to contain terror activity in the strip.
Palestinian groups are digging hundreds of tunnels near the border to smuggle weapons into Gaza, IDF Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz said last week.