The Israeli occupation army was surprised by the extent, depth and quality of the tunnel network under Gaza. One of these tunnels was wide enough for a senior Hamas official to drive a car inside.
Another tunnel extends approximately 3 football fields under the home of a senior Hamas leader. The Israeli army found a spiral staircase leading to a tunnel approximately 7 floors deep.
These new details and information about the tunnels were reported by the American newspaper The New York Times, citing the occupation army, saying that they confirm the reason why the Israeli army considered them a major threat to it in the Gaza Strip even before the start of the current war.
They were amazed by its scope, depth and quality
The report quoted Israeli officials and soldiers who were in the tunnels, as well as current and former American officials with experience in the region, saying that the scope, depth and quality of the tunnels built by Hamas had astonished them. Even some of the machines used to build them surprised the Israeli army, which now believes that there are more Tunnels under the Gaza Strip.
Last December, the length of the tunnel network was estimated at about 400 km, and they currently estimate it to be between 560 and 750 km, which – as the report says – are unusual numbers for a region whose maximum length is only 40 km. Two officials also estimated that there are approximately 5,700 separate entrances leading to the tunnels.
Aaron Greenstone, a former CIA officer who worked extensively in the Middle East, said Hamas has used time and resources over the past 15 years to turn the Gaza Strip into a fortress.
Underground nightmare
The report stated that these tunnels represent an underground nightmare for the Israeli army and the essence of Hamas’ ability to survive, and every strategic goal for Israel in the Gaza Strip is now linked to erasing the tunnels.
Hamas has invested heavily in tunnels because it does not have the resources or number of forces needed to fight the Israeli army in a conventional war. It uses them as military bases and arsenals, and relies on them to move its forces without being detected, and to protect its senior leaders.
The report said that one of the documents obtained by Israel in 2022 showed that Hamas allocated a budget of $1 million for tunnel doors, underground workshops, and other expenses in Khan Yunis.
Israeli intelligence officials recently estimated that there are about 160 kilometers of tunnels under Khan Yunis, the largest city in southern Gaza, where Israeli forces are now engaged in heavy fighting. They said that the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Al-Sinwar, had a house in Khan Yunis.
Two types of tunnels
The Israeli army said that it found two types of tunnels, one used by commanders, and the other used by activists. Leaders’ tunnels are deeper and more comfortable, allowing for longer stays, while other tunnels are often shallow.
An Israeli official said the army may have spent a year locating a single tunnel, but the ground campaign has now provided a range of information about the network. Another Israeli official said that the Israeli army examined the computers used by Hamas activists responsible for building the tunnels to find the underground passages, where lists of families who had “hosted” the tunnel entrances in their private homes were found.
In one case, the report states, Israeli soldiers identified a map of the tunnels in Beit Hanoun, which they used to find and destroy the tunnels.
Exploited with bombs hidden on the walls
One of the soldiers said that he supervised the destruction of about 50 tunnels in Beit Hanoun. Each of them was booby-trapped, and there were bombs hidden in the walls and a huge explosive device that was connected to hard wires to be activated remotely. He pointed out that the detonation device was manufactured in a factory and had a serial number on it, and that if the bomb had exploded, it would have killed anyone in the tunnel and directly outside it.
Daphne Richmond Barak, an expert on tunnel warfare at Reichman University in Israel, said that Hamas was inspired by the tactic from Syrian militants who killed dozens of government forces in a tunnel attack in Aleppo in 2014.
Under farms and factories
Last week, Israeli soldiers took journalists to see three entrances to central Gaza tunnels, one of them inside a one-story building on a farm on the outskirts of Bureij, the second inside a civil iron factory, and the third inside a shed near the steel factories.
The entrance into the steel mills was the deepest and most sophisticated, approximately 30 yards deep, and was equipped with a type of elevator. Soldiers said it was used to transport munitions parts that were made in steel mills.
Dismantling it could take years
The soldiers also took the journalists to see a third tunnel in a one-story building in Bureij surrounded by agricultural land. The entrance was hidden behind a locked door, and had been blown off its hinges. Journalists were not allowed to enter the tunnel again.
An Israeli official said that destroying the tunnels is not an easy task, as their locations must be identified and examined first for “hostages.” Recent attempts to demolish the tunnels by flooding them with seawater have failed.
The official estimated that disabling the tunnel system could take years.