An IDF soldier overlooking a Hamas terror tunnel in Gaza. Photo: IDF.

The head of the Israeli military on Wednesday called a cross-border tunnel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip that was uncovered earlier this week a “very significant asset of the enemy.”

The tunnel reached only a few dozen meters into Israeli territory and did not penetrate and underground barrier Israel is still constructing along the border. The IDF said it would “neutralize” the tunnel in the coming days.

Numerous such tunnels built by Gaza-based terrorist groups were destroyed by the IDF in Operation Protective Edge six years ago.

Shortly after the discovery of the tunnel was announced on Tuesday, a rocket was fired into southern Israel from Gaza, followed by an IDF retaliatory strike.

Addressing the latest developments, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi said, “The truth is that that significant things happened this week. One of them is the detection and exposure of a very significant terror tunnel in the Gaza Strip.”

“It is a clear example that the threats have not disappeared, that we have many challenges,” he emphasized.

The events of the past day, he noted, showed that Israel was facing threats “besides the coronavirus pandemic.”

Kochavi added that he did not want to address “technical details” of the tunnel, but “it was a very significant asset of the enemy.”

He vowed that the IDF would continue to address the Gaza tunnel threat “with all methods and all advanced means, from technology to intelligence.”

“This is a major goal for us, and altogether more than a few tunnels have been exposed in recent years,” he stated, promising that the IDF would continue to build on this achievement.