OREANDA-NEWS. Israel has launched massive attacks on a tunnel system built in the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian radical movement «Hamas». The operation, which lasted 40 minutes, involved 160 aircraft supported by tank fire, an Israeli army spokesman said on Friday, May 14.

According to the representative, the purpose of the operation was to destroy the tunnel system, which is called the «metro», and which is a «city under the city». «Hamas» has been building these tunnels for years. It is not yet clear how badly the «metro» was damaged as a result of the Israeli bombing. The representative of the Israeli army stressed, that no Israeli soldiers entered the territory of the Gaza Strip, so he is not talking about a ground operation.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 109 Palestinians have been killed and 621 injured since the latest escalation of the conflict. According to the Israeli army, 8 people were killed in Israel as a result of Palestinian shelling. «Hamas» called it's operation «The Sword of Jerusalem» and Israel «The Defender of the Walls». According to Israel, «Hamas» has already fired 1,800 rockets at Israel since the evening of May 10, 430 of them exploding in the Gaza Strip. The military estimated the effectiveness of the Iron Dome air defense system at 90 percent.