Residents Near Gaza Border Say They Hear Tunnel-digging

Local government officials in towns near the Gaza border reported on Sunday receiving complaints from residents who say they hear digging underground.

“We have relayed these complaints to security officials who are looking into it,” one source told The Jerusalem Post’s Hebrew-language sister publication Ma’ariv. “According to the complaints, the digging hasn’t stopped for a moment.”

The complaints come less than a day after Israeli warplanes launched reprisal raids against targets in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Islamists in Gaza fired a rocket into Israeli territory earlier on Saturday. Earlier last week, at least two rockets were fired at Gaza frontier towns.

Local residents believe that the next round of fighting is simply a matter of time.

“We knew this would repeat itself, this trickle of missiles,” said Eran Zomer, a 27-year-old resident of the moshav of Amioz. “Very simply, the IDF didn’t do the job the last time.”

“I’ve also heard of many residents in the area complaining about hearing digging, so we weren’t surprised that a senior Hamas official said their people continue to prepare offensive tunnels,” he said. “I hope that next time [the army] will properly deal with the tunnels in a timely fashion instead of waiting until 14 terrorists pop out from underground.”

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