2023-10-13 04:35:00
HomePolitics
Israel’s ground offensive in the Gaza Strip faces a formidable challenge: Hamas’ underground tunnels. But Israel can also use this for its own benefit.
Gaza City/Tel Aviv – Israel is preparing a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and, according to experts, is facing an incredibly difficult task: Hamas’s almost 500-kilometer-long underground tunnel system under the Gaza Strip.
The underground city is one of Hamas’ most dangerous advantages in the war in Israel, according to a report by the New York Post: The Hamas fighters know the tunnel system inside out, while the Israelis are dealing with an extremely complex, multi-story system of corridors riddled with booby traps and guerrilla fighters. “These places will be full of traps,” warned US foreign policy expert Bruce Hoffman. “This is a challenge of unprecedented proportions.”
US terrorism specialist Colin Clarke also said: “Preparing for battle in such terrain is incredibly difficult and would require extensive information regarding what the tunnel network looks like – which the Israelis may not have.” Giving defenders and their leadership a major tactical advantage.
A Palestinian fighter in one of the underground tunnels beneath Gaza City in the Gaza Strip. © Ashraf Amra/Imago
Hamas attack on Israel: tunnels under Gaza played a decisive role
The Hamas tunnel system in the Gaza Strip also played a crucial role in Hamas’ fatal surprise attack on Israel: Hamas fighters reached Israeli soil via the underground tunnels, among other things.
The tunnels stretch like a vast underground network beneath the Gaza Strip. They stretch for hundreds of kilometers, are interconnected and allow Hamas terrorists to move invisibly underground. Some of them are 40 meters deep underground. Some people can only walk through them while bending over, while others can even drive trucks, according to various reports.
Hamas tunnels lead from Gaza to Israel – “As if the devil himself were appearing”
“It is as if the devil himself were emerging from hell to spread torment on earth” – this is how history professor Prof. Gerad-René de Groot described it in the Washington Post the massive tunnel system in the Gaza Strip. The access points are often hidden between schools, mosques or hospitals.
Some led directly to Israeli communities near the Gaza border. “Residents live in constant fear, knowing that at any moment a terrorist might emerge from a tunnel near their home and kidnap or murder their neighbors or children,” writes the Indian news portal Firstpost. It is believed that Israelis taken hostage by Hamas are also being held in the underground tunnels.
But as fatal as Hamas’ tunnels may be for Israel’s ground offensive, Alexander Grinberg from the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security said opposite France24, that the Israeli armed forces can also use the tunnels once morest Hamas: “If tunnels are found, they can be closed to trap the people inside. And then the order will probably be to give no mercy.”
According to terrorism expert Clarke, Israel might also send drones or unmanned vehicles into the underground system to bring it down. However, it is difficult to estimate how effective this will be.
Israel is trying to destroy tunnels in Gaza – Hamas keeps expanding it
Israel has repeatedly tried to destroy the tunnel system in the past and has succeeded in some cases. Two years ago the Israeli army bombed loudly New York Post around 100 kilometers of tunnel systems. But Hamas apparently rebuilt many of them – and is said to have diverted millions of dollars in aid money that was actually intended for the impoverished Palestinian people.
There are three types of Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip:
Offensivtunnel: They are used by Hamas to attack Israel, as was the case with the attack that launched on Sunday (October 8).Smuggling tunnels: They run between Gaza and Egypt and Hamas is said to use them to smuggle weapons, military equipment and everyday items.Defense tunnel: Hamas uses them as weapons depots and command centers.
Tunnels were created because of Israel’s blockade of Gaza – Hamas took control
Construction of the tunnels originally began in 2007. Initially, their purpose was non-military: they were used to bypass the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Food and other consumer goods were smuggled through underground passages for the two million Palestinians in the extremely densely populated area.
But Hamas soon controlled the underground system and used it for its terrorist and military purposes. The terrorist organization continued to expand the tunnel system over the years. Today it is so huge that the Israeli army calls it the “Gaza Metro.”
Pictures show how the war in Israel is changing the country
View photo series
Disused Hamas tunnels: “I feel the hatred creeping out of the walls”
The Israeli army also repeatedly took journalists into closed-down, conquered tunnels, including a reporter in 2014 Bild, who described her impressions as follows: “I feel the hatred of Hamas crawling out of the walls. The absolute will to destroy Israel and its inhabitants, even if that means digging a tunnel 15 meters deep up to six kilometers over months and years. Concrete that was intended for houses, schools, hospitals to be used for deadly tunnels.” (smu)
1697173695
#Hamas #tunnel #system #Gaza #Strip #Devil #Hell
