They call it the “Hamas Metro” and according to the terrorist group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, the network of tunnels under the small enclave stretches over 500 kilometers – 25 percent longer than the entire London Underground.
If Israel is to succeed in its stated goal of “destroying” Hamas, finding and eradicating these tunnels with hidden entrances to homes, schools and mosques is a necessary part of the mission, but one that comes with risks.
The network has been held like a “spider web” for more than two weeks by recently released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz, an 85-year-old woman.
She then told reporters: “We ended up going underground and walking for two to three hours in wet tunnels through a spider web of tunnels,” she said. “We walked through the tunnels until we came to a large hall.”
The Gaza tunnel network was built more than two decades ago and connected the Gaza Strip with Egypt and Israel. It was mainly used for smuggling and smuggling weapons.
A member of the Al-Quds Brigades, an armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, stands guard in a tunnel on the border between Israel and Gaza on March 30, 2023.
Members of the Al-Quds Brigades are seen in the tunnel system, March 30, 2023
But in recent years, especially since Israel’s last incursion into Gaza, Hamas has made the tunnels an important part of its war machine, building land lines and allowing them to carry out their operations undetected.
According to the Israelis, a key command and control base was dug up directly under the Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, which Israel considers a legitimate military target and bombed near the building.
In 2006, Hamas terrorists kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit after he used a tunnel to gain access to the Kelem Shalom border crossing on the Israeli side.
He was held for five years before being exchanged for more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners.
MailOnline spoke exclusively to the Israeli soldiers who in the past had the dangerous task of destroying tunnels with explosives and earthmoving equipment.
But they must always be careful that the tunnel they are trying to destroy may have other entrances from which the enemy below can emerge.
When Israel last invaded Gaza in 2014, Ben Milch, now 31 and head of business development at a startup, ordered a team of combat engineers to destroy the “terror tunnels.”
The US-born father of two recalled: “The tunnels we were focused on [on] was taken directly to Israel and used by the terrorists for attacks.
“A telltale sign was sometimes a pulley system attached to the side of a house to move the excavated soil.” And when we dug, we usually found the tunnel about 15 feet deep.
“In other places there was a steel shop in a room of a house or a mosque.” Our job was not to enter the tunnels, but to destroy them.
Members of the Al-Quds Brigades are seen in the tunnel system, March 30, 2023
An Israeli army officer leads journalists through a tunnel system allegedly used by Palestinian terror groups to carry out cross-border attacks on Israel, 25 July 2014
MailOnline spoke exclusively to the Israeli soldiers (Ben Milch, left and Major Omri Attar, right) who in the past have been given the dangerous task of destroying tunnels with explosives and earthmoving equipment.
“We would basically drill a hole in the tunnel, then drop a bunch of anti-tank mines with C4 explosives and then cover the ground again.” Sometimes you could see the ground sink a little as the end of the tunnel disappeared.
“Some of the tunnels were more than two meters high and easily high enough for someone to walk through. One was spotted by another team that was wide enough for a small van to pass.
“I was surprised by the size and number. They were in houses and mosques. In one house we found Hamas recruitment flyers and combat equipment.
“I think they were very similar to what the US found in Vietnam, it made it easy for the enemy to move around and their weapons undetected.”
“It also gave them the opportunity to lure us because you don’t know if they have the only access to a tunnel – there could be another one in the building next door.” In such circumstances we came under fire in the middle. of a residential area. “Luckily we didn’t have any losses, but other teams did.”
Major Omri Attar, 37, a father of three, spoke to MailOnline from Gaza, where he serves as a reservist.
In 2014, he was a company commander in a special unit that came under fire several times while destroying tunnels in the Gaza Strip.
He said: “Infantry units are well trained to look for signals such as a vent, and often use an electric fan to ‘suck’ air into the tunnel.”
“They are usually hidden in the basement of a house, mosque or farm with a metal door that is trapped.” The deepest tunnels were up to 40 meters underground and were always reinforced with concrete.”
He said military tunnels have been known for decades, dating back to World War II and Vietnam.
In this Aug. 8, 2007 photo, a Palestinian tunnel digger holds a lamp as he makes his way through a smuggling tunnel in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt.
An Israeli soldier stands guard near an entrance to a cross-border attack tunnel dug from Gaza into Israel near Kissufim, according to the Israeli army, on January 18, 2018
“The great advantage of using tunnels is that you can mobilize your forces.” This gives the terrorist the opportunity to attack from behind and then run away.
The downside is that they try to run through a tunnel with heavy weapons, which increases the chance of being taken out by the IDF.”
When asked about “sponge bombs” – a new weapon used by the Israelis to close and block tunnels – Major Attar simply said: “There are many different types of equipment and creative solutions to clear a tunnel , to close it and to bomb.” It.
“Many infantry units take a variety of measures to deal with whatever they encounter on the battlefield.”
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
