JERUSALEM — The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had uncovered a sophisticated tunnel that stretched hundreds of yards into its territory from the Gaza Strip and could have been used to attack or kidnap Israelis.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman, told reporters that fresh footprints and tools found inside the tunnel from southern Gaza suggested it had been worked on even “in the last few days,” and that its design, with many offshoots, made it “the most advanced tunnel that we’ve exposed.” Though the tunnel did not reach an Israeli town or village, Colonel Lerner said, “it wasn’t that far — a quick sprint and you could attack a community.”

Hamas, the militant Palestinian faction that controls the Gaza Strip, played down the significance of the tunnel — and of Israel’s intelligence feat in finding it. A spokesman for its military wing said the tunnel had been exposed by bad weather, which also caused parts of it to collapse.

“This tunnel was unsuitable for use,” said the spokesman, who was identified only as Abu Obaida. “This is not a new tunnel, and it was uncovered due to the rainstorm last week. The discovery was not an intelligence achievement, as the enemy tries to promote.”