The military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, said that adding an engineering battalion to the Israeli forces penetrating Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip comes within the framework of dealing with the tunnel network.
Al-Duwairi stated – during his military analysis for Tel Aviv Tribune – that this battalion was recently formed and its number ranges between 450 to 600, and it specializes in dealing with the tunnel network.
He explained that this battalion conducted experiments in training areas that included tunnels, and used several methods to deal with them, such as water flooding, chemical means, dogs, and robots, in addition to gelatinous explosives and sponge bombs.
Regarding the reason for deploying this battalion in the southern region, Al-Duwairi revealed that its eastern regions include areas, distances, and residential homes that are far apart, unlike Gaza City, “and therefore these factors allow it to operate in these areas.”
Yesterday evening, Tuesday, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the army had added an entire battalion and engineering forces “to continue to deepen our operations in Khan Yunis.”
The Israeli army had begun a large ground operation in Khan Yunis after the collapse of the temporary humanitarian truce at the beginning of this December, after ground entry in the first phase was limited to Gaza City and its north.
The occupation army is subjected to qualitative resistance with weapons and anti-armour missiles, and was unable to deal with the tunnel network except for exposing a tunnel near the Beit Hanoun crossing. The Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) – said that its mission was accomplished and it reached Tel Aviv late.