IDF discovers underground tunnel during operations in West Bank terror hub Tulkarem

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Israel Defense Forces announced on Friday that it had uncovered a short underground tunnel close to a hospital in the West Bank town of Tulkarem. The city is strategically located just across the 1949 ceasefire line and just nine miles from the large Israeli coastal city of Netanya.

Israeli forces reportedly made the discovery during ongoing counter-terrorism operations against Hamas-affiliated and Iranian-backed terrorist cells in Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank. The Israeli army stated that it would destroy the tunnel after examining it.

Unlike the Gaza Strip, where Hamas has built a vast tunnel network embedded in civilian structures over the years, it is quite unusual to find terrorist tunnels in Judea and Samaria because of the IDF's ongoing presence in the area.

In August, Israeli forces eliminated at least nine Hamas terrorists in the area of Tulkarem, including the terror group's local commander, Haitham Balidi, in a counter-terrorism operation. The director of the local Thabet hospital told Palestinian media that Balidi “and another four fatalities whose remains were charred, were transferred to the government hospital Thabet after being hit by a missile from a drone near the town of Zeita, north of Tulkarem.”

Since the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis, the IDF has arrested some 5,000 wanted terrorists across Judea and Samaria, including 2,000 individuals who are affiliated with local Hamas cells.

Approximately 670 Arabic-speaking residents from the West Bank have been killed since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry. The IDF has emphasized that the large majority of the fatalities are terrorists who were killed in clashes with Israeli troops or while committing terrorist attacks against Israelis. Since Oct. 7, 33 Israelis, including Israeli security operatives, have been killed in terror attacks inside the Jewish state and across Judea and Samaria. In addition, six Israeli soldiers have been killed during clashes with terrorists in the West Bank.

Israeli security officials are increasingly concerned that the increase in terrorism in the West Bank could potentially develop into a full-scale new Intifada. Israeli security heads, including Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, recently urged the Israeli security cabinet to “do everything to avoid another front in Judea and Samaria.”

The Israeli military recently responded to this terrorist threat by launching “Operation Summer Camps,” a counter-terrorism operation aimed at eliminating terrorists in various locations in northern Samaria.

Over the last 10 days, Israeli forces eliminated at least 64 terrorists and confiscated dozens of weapons. In addition, the IDF neutralized local sites for weapons production, including explosive devices intended to be used against Israel.

The overall goal of Israel’s counter-terrorism operations in Judea and Samaria has been to disrupt and neutralize the local terrorist cells’ capabilities to carry out large-scale attacks against Israel.