Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the army’s claims are ‘”pure lies and fabrications.”
Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies that have fought four wars and numerous skirmishes since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
In the most recent round of fighting, in May 2021, over 260 Palestinians were killed, more than half of them civilians, and have of thousands displaced, according to UN figures.
The Israeli army says it tries to prevent civilian casualties and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields by operating and firing rockets from residential areas.
Human rights groups have been accused of failing to do enough to prevent civilian casualties, and striking targets with no evident military purpose. Rights groups have also criticized Israel Hamas for aiming rockets at population centers in.
Israel claimed to have inflicted heavy damage on Hamas last year. A military official said Wednesday that more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) of tunnels were destroyed last year.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity under military briefing guidelines, declined to say how much of that network Hamas has rebuilt.