Israel has uncovered its “biggest tunnel yet” in Gaza, which was large enough for vehicles to drive through and stretched for four kilometres to the border with Israel, close to the site of the October 7 incursion.

The concrete-fortified tunnel was concealed in a sand dune and was used to ferry carloads of Hamas militants to Israel’s doorstep at the Erez Crossing, the Israel Defence Forces said.

Hamas militants broke past part of the border wall near the Erez crossing when they stormed Israel, killing 1200 people and taking about 240 hostages.

The underground concrete-and-iron structure has electrical fittings, communications systems and blast doors. It would have cost millions and taken years to build, the IDF said.

The Israeli army aims to expose hundreds of kilometres of underground passages and bunkers as part of its offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

Chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said it was “the biggest tunnel we found in Gaza … meant to target the [Erez] crossing”.

Most of the tunnels found to date have been narrow and low, according to Reuters.

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New aid crossing

Starving Palestinians were seen looting aid trucks bringing supplies through Gaza’s Rafah crossing near the border with Egypt.

Israel has opened a direct crossing for aid into Gaza for the first time.

The Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza opened for aid trucks on Sunday (local time) in a move to double the amount of food and medicine reaching Gazans.

But Israel cast doubt on whether the aid would be distributed, accusing aid officials of not distributing aid that had crossed from Egypt.

Aid agencies say aid distribution has been disrupted by the violence.

Hamas said it would not discuss freeing any more of those captured when its fighters raided southern Israel on October 7 while Israel continues its attacks.

Israel stepped up attacks on the Palestinian enclave, saying military pressure was the only way its hostages will be freed.

The Israeli attacks took place amid fierce fighting the length of the coastal strip, according to residents and militants, with communications down for a fourth day, making it hard to reach the wounded.

About 19,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health officials, and thousands buried in the rubble of Israeli air strikes since October 7 when Hamas militants killed 1200 people, according to Israeli authorities, and captured 240 hostages in their surprise raid.

Israel’s military said on Sunday that 121 soldiers had been killed since the ground campaign began on October 27, when tanks and infantry began to push into Gaza’s cities and refugee camps.

The toll is already almost twice as high as during a ground offensive in 2014, a reflection of how far it has pushed into the enclave and of Hamas’ effective use of guerrilla tactics and an expanded arsenal.

-with AAP