2023-10-13 14:22:10
Gaza City | Hamas’ tunnel network in Gaza poses a challenge to Israel as it prepares for a full-scale ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Hamas reportedly has a 500km tunnel network in Gaza. Hamas conducts its operations through these tunnels. These tunnels also allowed Hamas to bypass the Iron Dome security shield and launch attacks into Israel.
In 2021, the Israel Defense Forces claimed to have destroyed more than 100 kilometers of Hamas’ tunnel network. But Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar claims that the tunnel network in Gaza is 500 kilometers long and that only five percent of it has been destroyed. The length of the Delhi Metro network is regarding 392 km. Delhi is four times the size of Gaza. So one can only imagine how extensive the 500 km tunnel network is.
Since taking control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, reports say Hamas has worked to develop tunnel networks within the city and along the Gaza-Israel border. Israel refers to Hamas’ tunnel network as the ‘Gaza Metro’. Previous videos of the tunnels show that inside these tunnels there are lights, weapons and ammunition and ample storage space. Its walls are made of cement. Responding to global criticism of targeting civilian buildings, Israel maintains that Hamas operatives are hiding in tunnels beneath civilian buildings.
The tunnel is believed to have facilitated an attack by Hamas across the border into Israel last weekend. Israel’s border with Gaza is fenced off. This fence is 30 feet high. There is also an underground concrete barrier. It will not be easy for Hamas to bypass all this and enter Israel directly. This is the reason to strengthen the suspicion that the Hamas armed group reached there through the tunnels that extend to Israel.
Reichman University faculty member Dr Daphne Richmond-Barak says there is a difference between tunnels inside Gaza City and tunnels across the border. Cross-border tunnels are for single use. There will be no fortresses to hide within. But tunnels inside Gaza’s borders are a hideout for Hamas. It is also where their command and control center operates. Reports also say that before Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2006, the tunnel network was used for smuggling.
As it prepares for a ground offensive, Israel’s main concern is ensuring the safe return of some 150 hostages held by Hamas operatives. Israeli security sources say hostages are likely to be held underground. Therefore, Israel cannot easily use the option of destroying tunnels with bunker buster bombs.
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