IAF commander: Bombing of tunnels not a solution to Gaza arms smuggling

Israel Air Force Commander Major General Ido Nehushtan said Wednesday that he doubted the long-term efficacy of Israel's bombing of the tunnels on the Philadelphi Route in southern Gaza. In the first remarks on the outcome of Operation Cast Lead by a member of the Israel Defense Forces General Staff, Nehushtan said he recommended focusing on all means of weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

The air force carried out hundreds of sorties around the Philadelphi Route during the Gaza operation, focusing mainly on houses suspected of hiding tunnels. On Tuesday night, following the attack on an army patrol hear Kissufim, the IDF responded by bombing tunnels in that area. Speaking at the Ilan Ramon Annual International Space Conference in Herzliya, Nehushtan attempted to reduce the importance of tunnels for smuggling arms, calling them "merely the spout of the toothpaste tube." Nehushtan said: "If we hit them today, they'll open again tomorrow and they'll be dug in the future, too."

Nehushtan's remarks reveal the frustration of the IDF and the government that the Gaza offensive did not end the weapons smuggling, despite the destruction of the tunnels. The IDF has been highlighting the need to stop the weapons before they reach the tunnels in Sinai or the ships that bring them in from Iran.

Nehushtan also said there was frustration about the West's failure, through international bodies and diplomacy, to stop the Iranian nuclear program.