Israel should immediately destroy the Gaza tunnel in which as many as 200 Hamas terrorists are trapped, despite international pressure to release them, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said on Tuesday.

The blunt remarks by Israel’s second highest diplomat come even as American envoys have been reportedly pressuring Israel to secure safe passage for the terrorists in exchange for them giving up their weapons.

“The State of Israel needs to send an unequivocal message to Hamas and blow up this tunnel with the 200 terrorists inside,” Haskel told JNS in an interview during an official visit to Paris. “Since the ceasefire was signed, Hamas has continually been testing us and pushing back the red lines and blackmailing us, and this needs to stop.”

She noted that some of the terro

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