"The United Nations Human Rights Council report on the 50-day Gaza conflict said there was no indication Hamas's cross-border tunnels were constructed to attack Israeli civilians, since the terror group exclusively targeted 'legitimate' Israel Defense Forces positions during the summer war...
Nine IDF soldiers were killed in tunnel attacks during the summer conflict, in four separate incidents.
In October 2014, the IDF confirmed a report in Vanity Fair that Hamas had planned to carry out a massive assault by penetrating Israeli communities via tunnels under the border from the Gaza Strip, and then killing or kidnapping as many civilians as possible.
IDF Spokesperson Peter Lerner said the terror group planned to use the tunnels to attack civilian areas in Israel and 'inflict mass casualties.'
'Hamas had a plan,' Lerner added. 'A simultaneous, coordinated, surprise attack within Israel.
They planned to send 200 terrorists, armed to the teeth, toward civilian populations,' continued Lerner. 'This was going to be a coordinated attack. The concept of operations involved 14 offensive tunnels into Israel. With at least 10 men in each tunnel, they would infiltrate and inflict mass casualties.'
Destroying the tunnels was one of the main goals of the ground war launched by Israel, which says it destroyed dozens of subterranean passages..."