Israel destroys land-to-sea Hamas tunnel in Gaza: army

An Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip destroyed an alleged Hamas tunnel giving unseen access to the sea from their base, the Israeli army claimed on Sunday.

The tunnel, the first of its kind discovered by Israeli intelligence, was hit on June 3 in the north of the strip as Israeli aircraft pounded over a dozen Hamas targets in Gaza, army spokesman Jonathan Cornices said.

He said it was probable there were more like it not yet located by Israel.

"We continue to monitor using all our operational, technical and intelligence capabilities that we have at our disposal," he added.

Conricus said that the tunnel ran from a military facility of the Hamas movement, which runs the impoverished Gaza Strip, into the Mediterranean sea, "a few dozen metres away" at a depth underwater of two to three meters.

"It could have facilitated hostile activity against the state of Israel," he said, adding that the tunnel's underwater exit was about three kilometres from Israel's border.

He said that the tunnel had been used in Hamas training and was “operational".

Israel has placed a high priority on destroying the tunnels after Hamas infiltrated Israel during the 2014 war.

Last week's strikes were launched amid rising tensions, after Israeli forces killed more than 129 Palestinians protesting along the Gaza border.

Dubbed the "Great Return March", the demonstrations have centred on a demand for the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, after they were expelled following the 1948 creation of Israel.

The demonstrations and violence peaked on May 14 when at least 61 Palestinians were killed when Gazans protested the US transfer of its embassy in Israel to the disputed city of Jerusalem on the same day.

There have been no Israeli fatalities.