The IDF recently finished demolishing a tunnel dug by Hamas that led from Gaza to the outskirts of Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel, the army said Monday.

The tunnel, discovered during Operation Protective Edge last summer, stretched from Nahal Oz to the neighborhood of Saja'iyya in Gaza City, a hotbed of Hamas activity. The IDF has been in control of the path of the tunnel since the summer war.

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The IDF force that destroyed the tunnel operated on Israeli territory near the border with Gaza, and found several old weapons at the site.

Hamas tunnel in Gaza. (Photo: Reuters)

The destruction of the tunnel was carried out in cooperation with the security coordinators of the surrounding communities. Residents living near the Gaza border were notified of the event in order to prevent alarm.

The IDF clarified that while the end of the tunnel that opened into Israel was destroyed in the past couple of days, the rest of the tunnel that led into the Gaza Strip had been eliminated during Protective Edge.

According to the IDF, the remaining part of the tunnel had not posed a threat and its destruction was planned as part of ongoing work along the border.

IDF soldiers locates Hamas tunnel during Operation Protective Edge. (Photo: Yoav Zitun)

During the work to eliminate the remainder of the tunnel, the main road leading to Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the border with Gaza was closed to traffic, but has since been reopened.

Several ago, The Times of London reported that Hamas has been rebuilding attack tunnels designed to reach Israel. The report was based on information from Israeli intelligence sources and said that Hamas was testing a "new generation of home-produced rockets."

Dozens of long-range rockets that had been fired from the Gaza Strip since the summer conflict ended were tracked by the Iron Dome or fell into the sea, Israeli sources told The Times.

A month ago, Ynet revealed that a black market for cement had been set up to transfer cement to Gaza by way of Israel, and Hamas had been able to acquire the material and use it for military purposes – such as lining tunnels with concrete slabs.

Israelis living in communities near the Gaza Strip in the south had reported hearing the rocket launch trials carried out by Hamas. On several occasions, the Red Alert system was activated.

Hamas leader Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook confirmed in December that Hamas had been testing rockets and that the test launches did not violate the ceasefire agreement between Gaza and Israel, as the ceasefire did not mention any prohibitions against rocket experiments.