The Israeli military announced on Thursday that it has uncovered a Hamas tunnel extending from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, as violence flared near the border with the Palestinian enclave.

A military statement said the tunnel was found on southern Gaza border across Rafah town, where much of the past day's exchange of fire took place.

"Forces are operating on the ground to learn its route," the statement said, adding that the tunnel is expected to be destroyed in the next few days.

The army considers the 28-meter-deep tunnel as an "offensive tunnel" that Gaza militants constructed with the aim of attacking Israel in the future.

The announcement came after five mortar rounds were fired at soldiers and army bulldozers working at the border.

Israel retaliated with artillery and airstrikes that targeted an inoperative Gaza airport east of Rafah and two watchtowers that Israel described as Hamas posts. Palestinian media reported one person was injured in the raids.

It was the second cross-border tunnel being found since the 2014 Gaza War. On April 18, Israel said it has uncovered and destroyed a tunnel built by Hamas, the Islamist organization that controls Gaza, to "infiltrate Israel" and carry out "terror attacks" against Israeli community near the border.

Israel's 51-day-long offensive in Gaza in the summer of 2014 killed at least 2,250 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 72 Israelis, including two soldiers, according to the United Nations.

The violence ended with a fragile cease-fire on Aug. 26, 2014.

Source: XINHUA