The extension of underground constructions, the extent of which is unknown, represents one of the main obstacles to a ground offensive
MADRID, 17 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Israeli Army has assured since the beginning of the war with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) after the attacks carried out on October 7 by the Islamist group that one of its objectives is the network of tunnels used by the group in the Strip. of Gaza, which are presented as one of the main obstacles in case the Israeli military finally launches a ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
The Hamas offensive has unleashed an extensive and devastating bombing campaign by Israel that has caused massive destruction of civilian infrastructure. These bombings have been accompanied by Israel’s decision to impose a “total siege” on the enclave – controlled by Hamas since 2007 after an intra-Palestinian dispute with Fatah arising from the previous year’s elections, won by the Islamist group -, that prevents the entry of food, water and supplies for the population.
In this sense, Jonathan Conricus, one of the spokespersons for the Israeli Army, stated last week in a video shared by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) through its account on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, that in the Gaza Strip “there is much more than meets the eye.”
“Sometimes you see images from cameras pointing to the horizon in Gaza and suddenly you see a column of smoke and maybe a building collapses due to an Israeli bombardment, but that does not tell what is happening,” he said, before arguing that “What Hamas has done is build a network of tunnels from Gaza City and under Gaza City (…) to the south, in Khan Younis and Rafah.”
Thus, he maintained that “we must think of the Gaza Strip as one layer for civilians and another layer for Hamas.” “What we are trying to do is get to that second layer, built by Hamas just for them, not for civilian access. These are not bunkers that civilians have access to when Israel bombs,” she said.
Conricus stressed that this network of tunnels, which has an unknown extent and about which there are few details, is used by Hamas and “other terrorists” to “fire rockets at Israel, plan operations and for terrorists to launch attacks against Israel.” “That’s what we’re attacking,” he defended.
Thus, Conricus emphasized the relevance of this network of tunnels built by the Islamist group, known by Israel as ‘the Gaza Metro’ and which already played a central role in the Israeli offensive in 2021, when the Israeli Army said it had destroyed more than one hundred kilometers of these facilities in their bombing campaign.
The construction of this network of tunnels began before the withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers in 2005 – in what was known as the Disengagement Plan -, although it was reinforced once Hamas took control of the enclave in 2007, which which triggered a blockade by Israel, backed by Egypt, which nevertheless occasionally opened the Rafah crossing.
The Israeli authorities have carried out operations to seal tunnels that led into its territory, while Egypt has flooded some of these tunnels, used on that side of the border mainly for smuggling supplies and other materials, although Cairo considers that they also serve to deliver weapons to the Sinai Peninsula.
Despite this, Hamas claimed in 2021 that it had built some 500 kilometers of tunnels in the Strip, statements that could not be independently verified that, however, could give a superficial image of the extent of this system, which It performs offensive and defensive tasks in the hands of Palestinian groups.
Daphné Richemond-Barak, an expert on underground warfare at Israel’s Reichman University, recently specified that “the tunnels that cross the border are usually rudimentary, meaning they have hardly any fortifications,” since “they are excavated for a single purpose: invade Israeli territory.”
However, the tunnels located inside the enclave “are different”, since the group “uses them on a regular basis.” “Possibly they are more comfortable, to stay in for long periods of time. They are equipped for a longer and more sustained presence,” he argued, as reported by the British television channel BBC.
Richemond-Barak has maintained that Hamas “leaders” are hiding in these tunnels, which also have “command and control centers” and that they have electricity and even rails for the transfer of goods. For this reason, he has stressed that the Palestinian Islamist group seems to have “perfected the art” of constructing tunnels for military uses after analyzing the practices of Syrian rebels and the jihadist group Islamic State.
In this sense, the Israeli Army maintains in an explanatory message on its website about ‘the Gaza Metro’ that this network of tunnels “is in fact a vast underground city with dozens of access points throughout Gaza”, while which indicates that “Hamas uses these tunnels as weapons warehouses, bunkers, a command and control center and a hidden artery of terrorists and weapons.”
“Hamas exploits the Palestinian population of Gaza by building tunnels under densely populated areas. Many times, the access points to the tunnels are hidden between schools, mosques, hospitals and other civilian buildings,” he says, before emphasizing that “the terrorist organization deliberately installs its terrorist infrastructure in civilian neighborhoods.
Likewise, it highlights that the group takes part of the construction materials that receive permission from Israel for delivery to Gaza – now suspended – and diverts them to be able to reinforce its tunnel construction work in this underground “terrorist city.” .
These tunnels are also presented as one of the main operational obstacles in the face of a ground offensive by the Israeli Army, since it is suspected that Hamas could have been preparing for an armed confrontation for months and Israel might not have exact information about the their location and their extension.
Additionally, GPS and night vision systems do not work inside these tunnels, making them suitable areas for surprise attacks, ambushes, kidnappings and even hand-to-hand combat in which Hamas members could have an advantage. by getting to know the area better.
For this reason, the Israeli Army appears to be focusing its efforts on a bombing campaign aimed at destroying all possible tunnels to undermine the underground capabilities of Hamas, which would have an important strategic advantage at this point, especially considering that countries such as Iran has warned Israel against launching a ground offensive, which could lead to an expansion of the conflict.
Added to this is that Israel’s military leadership has warned of a “long” war against Hamas after the severe blow on October 7 due to the ‘Al Aqsa Flood’ operation, considered the biggest blow to Israel in decades. and even worse than the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
Thus, the Israeli Army has indicated that on this occasion it seeks a total victory against Hamas, which involves destroying or significantly undermining the group’s capabilities and even eliminating its main leaders, which involves in part hitting and dismantle much of the tunnel network in the Gaza Strip.
