Israel He claimed this Sunday to have discovered “the largest underground tunnel” built by the Islamist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip and which ends less than half a kilometer from the territory of Israel.
“This massive network of tunnels, which is divided into several branches, It has an extension of more than four kilometers and reaches up to 400 meters from the Erez crossing point,” between Israel and northern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
According to that note, the tunnel – which cost several million dollars to build – is equipped with plumbing, electricity, sewage, of ventilation and rails, and weapons were found inside.
The French news agency AFP stated that a photographer of its “received authorization to enter the tunnel” and verified that “It is large enough for vehicles to circulate inside.”
Hamas’ tunnel network in Gaza
Hamas built a network of tunnels underground in Loop in order to avoid the blocking set by Israel since 2007, when the organization Islamist began to govern Stripe.
These tunnels became one of Israel’s main concerns in the context of the offensive launched on the Gaza Strip in response to the surprise attack by Hamas on Israeli territory that left more than 1,100 dead, mostly civilians, and took some 240 hostages, on October 7.
On November 19, IDF said it had discovered a 55-meter-long tunnel 10 meters deep beneath Al Shifa Hospitalthe largest in Gaza, where they suspected there was also a Hamas military base.
At that time, Israeli troops kept the hospital under siege, making the evacuation of staff and patients difficult.
Israel’s possible solution: flood the tunnels
On the 5th of this month, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, told the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal that The possibility of flooding the tunnels seemed like a “good idea” to him of Hamas in Gaza.
Last Thursday, the office of the High Commissioner for UN for the Human Rights (Acnudh) warned that the flooding of the tunnels could have “serious humanitarian consequences”two days after the same newspaper revealed that Israel had installed pumping systems near a refugee camp in Gaza, which could flood underground passageways with seawater.
After the October attack, Israel promised to “annihilate” Hamas and has bombed the Palestinian territory incessantly since then, where some 18,800 people died, also mostly civilians, according to Hamas.
Source: Ambito
