More from @Dotta’s link about the tunnels, good piece by
DAVID AVERRE
Although Israel's Defence Forces are well-trained, well-equipped and outnumber their Hamas foes considerably, the hellish battlefield that awaits them in Gaza could cause huge casualties
www.dailymail.co.uk
“Hamas 'knows its tunnels by heart,' said Colin Clarke, research director at the New York-based Soufan Center think-tank.
'Some are probably booby-trapped. Preparing to fight in such terrain... would require extensive intelligence... which the Israelis may not have,' he added.
'When tunnels are found, they can be closed off to shut in the people inside. In this case, the order is likely to be for no quarter to be given.'”
[…]
“The IDF has long been trying - and failing - to destroy the huge network of tunnels which were established after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Not only do they run underground throughout Gaza, but several reach into
Israeli territory and have long served as a launch point for many of the Hamas' attacks.
Tunnels were among Hamas' most effective tools during the 2014 war with Israel, with militants using them to move weapons, enter the Jewish state, ambush IDF soldiers, and at times even return to Gaza through the underground passages.
But it is thought Hamas has expanded the network considerably since then, perhaps in preparation for their October 7 attacks.
The first Hamas tunnels were built in 2007 between the Gaza Strip and
Egypt and were designed for smuggling consumer goods to bypass the Israeli blockade.
However, some rudimentary networks existed in Gaza as early as 2002. One was used to bomb an Israeli outpost within the Strip in 2004. A second tunnel bomb attack on an Israeli outpost took place in December 2004, killing five IDF soldiers.”
[…]
“Israel has long struggled to wipe the system out, despite top of the range military and intelligence equipment.
This is primarily because the tunnels, which are believed to have cost between $30 million (£21.3 million) and $90 million (£63.9 million) to build, are extremely difficult to detect from the air.
Some of the three dozen tunnels built since the end of the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict are estimated to have cost $3 million ($2.13 million).
The tunnels are reinforced with concrete to protect them from airstrikes and from caving in.
Footage from inside some of the tunnels shows a sweaty and cramped environment, not tall enough for fighters to stand up straight.
But others are well constructed, reinforced and large enough for troops to sprint through or move contraband.
By 2013, the network had definitively pivoted away from the Egyptian border and towards Israel and there were at least three tunnels under the Israel-Gaza border, two of which were packed with explosives.
The underground network now branches hundreds of miles through the Gaza Strip reaching the towns of Khan Younis, Jabalia, and the Shati refugee camp. They also stretch into Israel.
The tunnels are used by Hamas and other Islamist groups in Gaza, including the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, all of whom say tunnels are needed for defence, and to get around the difficulties imposed by Israel's strict border controls.”
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A Palestinian militant emerges from a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza strip (file image)
The network of tunnels were built after Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007 and have since been used to launch several attacks on Israel (pictured, Palestinian militants in the tunnels)
Israeli soldiers aim their weapons toward their colleague dressed as a Palestinian militant, while he exits from a fake tunnel, during training session simulating urban fighting at the Zeelim army base, southern Israel, Jan. 4, 2022
Hamas uses the network to hide rockets and other munitions, facilitate communication within their organisations, conceal militants, launch attacks, and conduct training (pictured, a Palestinian youth crawls in a tunnel during a Hamas graduation ceremony)
www.theguardian.com
