An Israeli soldier uncovers a Gaza terror tunnel during Operation Protective Edge. Reports say at least one Hamas operative was killed in the latest tunnel collapse. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Palestinian media is reporting that at least one operative from the Hamas terrorist group was killed, and that several others were wounded, in the latest tunnel collapse in Gaza.

According to a spokesman from the Gaza Health Ministry, a 23-year-old Palestinian named Ahmed Heydar a-Zahar was killed in the tunnel operations, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The latest tunnel collapse would mark the second such incident in recent weeks. In late January, seven Hamas operatives were killed when the tunnel they were reportedly working on underneath the Israeli border collapsed from heavy rain and flooding.

“The resistance factions are in a state of ongoing preparation underground, above ground, on land and sea,” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said at a rally honoring the seven dead operatives.

“East of Gaza City, heroes are digging through rock and building tunnels, and to the west they are experimenting with rockets every day. The resistance continues on its path of liberation of the land,” Haniyeh added.

Residents near the border with Gaza in southern Israel have expressed fears that Hamas is rebuilding its network of terror tunnels underneath their communities. They have claimed that they have been hearing Hamas digging tunnels underneath their homes.

In response, the IDF has started to drill along the Gaza border in an effort to locate the tunnels, in addition to installing advanced technological systems to identify possible tunnels.