Former Israeli minister of military affairs, Yoav Gallant, has admitted that a widely circulated photo of a large tunnel near the Gaza-Egypt border, released last year, was fabricated to delay a prisoner swap with Hamas and exaggerate threats against Israel.

Israel’s military claimed it had uncovered an unusually large tunnel in the Philadelphi Corridor –near the Gaza border with Egypt— in August 2024.

It released the photo of the supposed tunnel, claiming that it was around three meters tall—big enough for vehicles to pass through.

Gallant has now revealed that such a tunnel never existed.

In an interview with the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), he said what was discovered at the time was in fact a shallow trench only about one meter deep.

In reality, he said, the “tunnel” shown in the image was a standard drainage channel, and the military vehicle featured in the photo was simply positioned to enhance the illusion.

He said the image was used to support claims about the existence of tunnels built by Palestinian resistance groups along the border, to exaggerate the strategic significance of the Philadelphi Road, and ultimately to stall progress on a prisoner exchange deal.

At the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced intense criticism for blocking a ceasefire deal by insisting that Israeli forces would not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor.