Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening responded to the threat of Hamas rebuilding its terror tunnels into sovereign Israeli territory, by essentially confirming the criticism leveled at him by Opposition head MK Yitzhak Herzog (Zionist Union) earlier in the day, Arutz Sheva reported.

"We are working methodically and with level-headedness against all threats including the threat from Hamas, both through defensive measures and through offensive measures," said Netanyahu, in a conference with Israeli ambassadors at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

"Of course if we are attacked from the tunnels in the Gaza Strip we will act with very great strength against Hamas, and with much greater strength even than that of (2014) Operation Protective Edge," he said.

The prime minister added, "I think that they understand that in the region, they understand that also in the world. I hope that we won't need it, but our abilities, both defensive and offensive, are developing rapidly and I wouldn't propose to anyone to test us."

Hamas swiftly began rebuilding its tunnels immediately after the ceasefire in Protective Edge, and currently more than one of its tunnels has already crossed underneath the border with more as yet unknown tunnels estimated to be well in the works.

Illustrating the intensity of Hamas's terror tunnel activity, just last Tuesday seven Hamas terrorists died in a tunnel collapse during the digging work. Recently the group has launched a propaganda campaign in Gaza touting its extensive tunnel digging activity.

In Protective Edge, Netanyahu's approval rating plummeted from 82% at the start of the operation to just 38% at its end amid the ceasefire with Hamas, largely over a feeling that the government did not take decisive enough action to achieve security for residents of the south.

Source: MENA