Israel has successfully tested an advanced tunnel detection system near the Gaza border, and plans to expand the deployment of the systems, The Times of Israel reported Thursday.

The new system was already successfully trialed in recent months along parts of the border, and is now expected to be expanded further, the daily newspaper Yedioth Aharonot reported Thursday. …

A first of its kind in the world, the system includes a series of sensors that will provide data, deciphered by advanced algorithms, allowing security forces to accurately detect and locate tunnel-digging operations, the report said. …

Full deployment of the system, developed by the Director of Research and Development in the Defense Ministry in cooperation with Israeli industries, is pending government approval and the allocation of designated funds.

The Times also reported that Israelis living near Gaza have seen Hamas constructing tunnels “several hundred meters from the border.”

Earlier this week it was reported that Hamas was actively rebuilding the terror tunnels that were destroyed during Operation Protective Edge last summer, but was not rebuilding housing for Gaza residents. Earlier this year, Israel allowed the controlled importation of 1,000 tons of cement to facilitate the rebuilding of homes in Gaza.

Israel charged this week that Iran has been funding Hamas.

[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / Flickr ]