A view of the wheat fields in southern Israel that are blocking the view to Gaza and Hamas tunnel work. Photo: Walla/screenshot.

The IDF has a new and unusual worry on its hands in relation to the Hamas terror tunnels, the Hebrew news site Walla reported on Tuesday.

In addition to other issues involved in preventing the terrorist organization that controls Gaza from digging and rebuilding destroyed tunnels into Israel — for its explicitly stated purpose of kidnapping and killing Jews – the most recent one comes from an unlikely source: wheat fields in southern Israel.

According to Walla, this winter’s exceptionally large amount of rainfall on the western Negev – reportedly 30 percent higher than that of last winter – has caused the wheat fields in the area to grow beyond all expectations, and their crops to reach a height of more than three feet. These fields are spread out along the security fence separating Israel from Gaza.

IDF sources told Walla that this presents a genuine challenge – an Achilles Heel, so to speak – where monitoring Hamas activities is concerned. According to these sources, the wheat is providing cover for operatives engaged in opening tunnel shafts without being detected, as it blocks the vision of soldiers and cameras. This will be a problem until May, when the crops are harvested.

Meanwhile, according to Walla, an investigation into an incident at the end of last month — in which three Palestinians from Gaza infiltrated Israel dressed in army jackets — revealed that their ability to get as far as they did before being apprehended was due to a combination of fog and the wheat fields.