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Congressional Committee Approves Aid to Israel for Tunnel Detection
(Globes) Ran Dagoni - With continued tunnel digging in Gaza after the summer 2014 war, the U.S. Congress is initiating a joint U.S.-Israel R&D program for the development and testing of technologies to combat the threat of tunnels. On Wednesday the House Armed Services Committee unanimously approved an amendment to the annual defense bill laying the groundwork for the program. Israel exposed 32 tunnels during the Gaza war, half of which penetrated into Israel. Hamas has spent almost $100 million on digging tunnels. Rep. Douglas Lamborn (R-Colo.) emphasized the usefulness of the program for the U.S. "Tunnels are a threat to American bases and embassies around the world, and are already a serious threat on our own southern border....It only makes sense to partner with Israel, like we have done on missile defense, to learn with them about how to defend against tunnels."