TEL AVIV — The Israeli army announced Wednesday that it had uncovered nine tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
The tunnels were found during a sweep designed to prevent Palestinian militants from smuggling in the types of advanced weapons used by Hezbollah in the recent Lebanon conflict.
The sweep, which began Tuesday night, was Israel’s first along the border strip since withdrawing from Gaza last year. The Israeli military said it found seven completed smuggling tunnels, one of them more than 60 feet deep, and two others in the early stages of construction. At least two Hamas fighters died during clashes with the troops near the Rafah border crossing.
Israel wants to avoid a repeat of its experience during the summer in southern Lebanon, where, in the eyes of many Israelis, too little was done through the years to prevent Hezbollah from building an impressive arsenal. That war ended indecisively but felt like a defeat to many Israelis still angry at the nation’s political and military leaders.
“There will be no blind-eye policy in the face of the attempts to transform the Gaza Strip into south Lebanon,” Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Wednesday as tanks and troops operated along the border strip known as the Philadelphi corridor.
Israeli officials say Palestinian guerrillas have imported tons of arms and explosives into Gaza during the past year. They assert that militant groups hope to counter Israel’s vast military edge by smuggling a range of arms, including advanced anti-tank missiles and possibly anti-aircraft weapons, through a network of tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
The Israelis think militant groups such as Hamas also have brought in 122 mm Grad rockets. Israeli intelligence officers say militants have launched at least four Grad-type rockets since spring, though they have caused no casualties.
The intelligence officers say militants have managed to import dozens of anti-tank weapons like those that Hezbollah’s fighters employed during the Lebanon war.
