Katz wrote in a post on the X platform that he ordered the destruction of the tunnels "down to the last tunnel," adding: "If there are no tunnels, there is no Hamas," as he put it.
Katz did not specify the areas covered by the operations or the timeline for implementing the decision, but his statements come as the occupation army continues to control more than half of the Gaza Strip, after its withdrawal to what is known as the "yellow line" under the ceasefire agreement.
The yellow line separates the areas controlled by the army on the eastern side from those where Palestinians are allowed to move west of the line.
Despite the agreement, the occupation army continued to violate the truce dozens of times by bombing and shooting at areas west of the "yellow line," resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, according to previous statements by Hamas and the Government Media Office in Gaza.
Katz’s latest instructions come at a time when the occupation army continues its bombing and demolition operations east of the Gaza Strip, in repeated violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
The ceasefire agreement ended a genocide perpetrated by Israel on October 7, 2023, which lasted for two years and left more than 68,000 martyrs and more than 170,000 wounded, and caused destruction to about 90% of the civilian infrastructure in the sector.
