The IDF discovered a main Hamas tunnel under southern Gaza that was converted from a command post to a detention cell, which at one point held at least a dozen hostages, officials said today.
The tunnel system, more than half a mile long, is located in Khan Younis and is a base of operations for senior members of the terrorist organization, the IDF said.
Following the October 7 massacre, the base was converted into a hostage facility containing large cells where at least 12 hostages have been held at different times, including three who were released back in November, according to the Israeli military.
No prisoners were in the cell when it was discovered by the IDF.
The tunnel system also includes a working bathroom and kitchen, as well as a rest area for the terrorists guarding the hostages.
The IDF found a tunnel system under Khan Younis that included a caged cell where 12 hostages had been held by Hamas. IDF The system also includes a break room where Hamas terrorists stay while guarding hostages. IDF There is also a working kitchen where the militants prepare their food. IDF
“They also take time to make themselves feel at home here,” Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfuss told CNN during a tour of the tunnel.
The IDF also found numerous explosives in the tunnel, including dozens of grenades and several RPG warheads.
IDF forces fought and killed several Hamas gunmen who were guarding the cell.
Israel War Update
Get the most important developments in the region, globally and locally.
Thank you for signing up!
Like other tunnel raids in the past, the soldiers also had to neutralize many explosive traps.
Military officials stated that the tunnel was located “in the middle of a civilian area” in Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled as the war intensified in the city.
The tunnel is also linked to another underground system where the IDF previously found evidence of other hostages being held in recent weeks.
The IDF also found dozens of explosives in the tunnel. The IDF shows off one of the Hamas bathrooms inside the tunnel that helped the terrorists “feel at home.” IDF
Israeli officials did not specify the tunnel system, but last month they found two in Khan Younis where hostages were being held in “horrendous conditions,” including one that once held five-year-old Emilia Aloni.
The IDF also did not name the 12 hostages believed to be held in the tunnel, but said it was gathering information from forensic evidence collected, as well as testimony from freed hostages Sahar Calderon, 16, Or Yaakov, 16, and Sapir Cohen, 29.
The information could not be independently verified by the media allowed to visit the site before it was finally blown up and sealed.
The tunnel system was accessed after blowing down the door and taking out several Hamas gunmen in the Khan Younis public area. IDF
The Israeli army continued its advance in Khan Younis as it aimed to dismantle the Hamas tunnel system, locate more than 130 hostages held in Gaza, and capture the local leader of the terrorist group Yahya Sinwar.
Sinwar is believed to have been inside the latest destroyed tunnel in Khan Younis, where the Hamas political leader is from.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
