Israel allowed 14,000 tons of building material into Gaza on Wednesday, the defense ministry said of the largest single shipment since last summer’s Hamas terror war – despite the fact that Hamas is using such materials to rapidly rebuild its terror tunnels to attack Israel.
COGAT, the IDF Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, told AFP that some 354 trucks passed through the Kerem Shalom goods crossing in southern Gaza carrying “construction materials,” without elaborating what goods were let in.
The news comes as Hamas is working to rebuild its tunnels into Israel that were used to attack Israelis in Operation Protective Edge to lethal effect.
Hamas is intensively rebuilding its terror tunnel infrastructure, with the digging reportedly taking place six days a week with three shifts each day.
Over 1,000 diggers are said to be employed by Hamas to construct the tunnels, and the current estimation is that the tunnels lead up to Israeli territory – Hamas will extend them beyond when it feels the time is right to strike.
It was cleared for publication on Wednesday that Hamas had planned to use its tunnels for a massive abduction operation during last summer’s war.
Despite the overwhelming evidence that Hamas is gearing up for its next terror war against Israel after its third attempt fell short last summer, Israel continues to ship in construction goods that are being used to rebuild the tunnels.
Last month Israel lifted a ban on the import of dual-use Portland cement into Gaza, which can be used for civilian projects or military construction such as attack tunnel construction.