JERUSALEM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday showcased a technological laboratory for locating tunnels after Israeli army announced that the longest and deepest Hamas attack tunnel reaching into Israel from Gaza was destructed.

As part of the effort to locate and thwart the terrorist tunnels in the Gaza Strip, a technological laboratory for detection and location of tunnels was established two years ago in the Gaza Division, said the Israeli army said in a statement issued Sunday.

Locating and thwarting tunnels consist of a number of integrated efforts that complement each other - technological, intelligence and operational, according to the IDF.

The laboratory has accomplished proven achievements in locating and thwarting five terrorist tunnels in recent months by combining the capabilities of the engineering, intelligence and the technological front, noted the IDF.

The laboratory is the technological branch of tunnel detection, and it uses innovative ground research, which includes scanning of cavities and their dynamics, added the IDF. The laboratory also works to improve existing technologies and strives to develop new discovery and mapping techniques that match the specific challenge of terrorist tunnels in different features.

The laboratory personnel work closely with the intelligence personnel and the engineering forces and other units in the field until the tunnel is located, through its study and until it is dealt with, according to the IDF.

The human abilities that connect to the rising ability that combines technological-intelligence and operational activity have led to the creation of increased action that yields results at a rapid pace, said the Israeli army.

Recently, the lab received a certificate of excellence from the Head of the Ground Technological Division at the Technological and Logistics Directorate, noted the Israeli army.

By the end of next year, the IDF will deploy sensors as part of the laboratory's tools all along the border, and will complete both underground and overground barriers at the border, as part of a Gaza border defense project estimated to total some 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, Israel's Hadashot TV news reported.