13 October 2023 , 09:42
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Hamas militants have an expansive labyrinth system of tunnels built underneath the Gaza Strip that are thought to be booby-trapped with explosives.
No one will ever truly know what goes on in the secretive network, which Israel has dubbed the "Gaza Metro", but it is thought weapons and fighters are moved down there and potential attacks against Israel are staged. The war has already claimed over 2,800 lives on both sides and sent tensions soaring across the region.
Israel has bombarded Gaza round-the-clock since a weekend attack in which Hamas fighters stormed into the country’s south and massacred hundreds of people, including killing children in their homes and young people at a music festival. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza, according to authorities on both sides.
Israeli soldiers walk through a tunnel discovered near the Israel Gaza border (AP)During the hardest years of Israel's continuing siege on Gaza, commercial tunnels were dug to bring food, clothes, toys and even cars into the territory. Despite Israel’s constant air attacks on Gaza, Hamas has still been firing rockets at Israeli cities. CNBC claims that rockets are hidden underground on tracks so they can be moved within the tunnel network. One soldier told the network: "We know they’re waiting for us. And as bad as Gaza is above ground, underground is much worse."
An Israeli army officer gives journalists a tour of one of the outer tunnels back in 2014 (AP)An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said in a video on Thursday that Gaza has one layer for civilians and then another layer for Hamas. Following a conflict in 2021, the IDF said it had destroyed more than 60 miles of tunnels in air strikes, but Hamas said just 5% were hit and claimed to have a network longer than the London Underground.
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An Israeli soldier stands at the exit of a tunnel discovered near the Israel-Gaza border (AP)In 2006, militants used one tunnel underneath the border with Israel to kill two Israeli soldiers and seize a third whom they held captive for five years. Dr Daphné Richemond-Barak, an expert on underground warfare who teaches at Reichman University in Israel told the BBC: "The tunnels inside Gaza are different because Hamas is using them on a regular basis. They are probably more comfortable to be in for longer periods of time. They are definitely equipped for a longer, sustained presence.
A Palestinian tunnel digger photographed creating the tunnels (AP)"The leaders are hiding there, they have command-and-control centres, and they use them for transport and lines of communication. They are equipped with electricity, lighting and rail tracks. You can move around more and stand."