Hamas helped hatch an October 7 sneak attack on Israel under a cemetery in southern Gaza, according to the Israeli military, which recently removed an elaborate tunnel shaft.
Footage released by the Israeli army Monday shows a tunnel system more than half a mile long and 65 feet deep that runs through a cemetery in the Bani Suheila neighborhood of Khan Younis.
The tunnel leads to several spacious rooms, including a kitchen area complete with spice racks and working electricity and plumbing.
There are also several bathrooms and bedrooms in the tunnel system, as well as what appears to be a meeting room.
The base was where the leader of Hamas’s eastern battalion allegedly directed their troops during the October terror attacks that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The IDF destroyed a cemetery in the neighborhood of Bani Suheila Khan Younis. idfonline/Twitter
The IDF also claims the base is where Hamas is manning its forces during Operation Wall Guard, the 11-day conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in 2021.
The tunnel was active when the IDF arrived in Bani Suheila, with Israeli forces fighting and killing Hamas terrorists hiding behind a trapped door to the underground labyrinth, Israeli Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus told reporters over the weekend.
A nearby cemetery and mosque were later destroyed, leaving a 459-foot crater in their wake.
Satellite analysis suggests that the destroyed cemetery is the Shuhadaa Bani Suheila cemetery.
The IDF said it found several Hamas gunmen inside the tunnel system hiding behind doors designed to explode. IDF/GPO/SIPA/Shutterstock
Although videos and tours were provided by the IDF, journalists were unable to independently verify the claims of what exactly was inside the tunnel that traversed the cemetery.
Journalists were only shown the entrance to the tunnel.
Goldfus told CNN reporters that the structure was “unsafe,” with the American outlet noting that none of the entrances shown to reporters appeared to be located on the grounds of the cemetery.
When pressed by AP and CNN reporters about what happened to the bodies buried in the cemetery, Goldfus said the IDF faces the challenge of moving bodies while simultaneously fighting Hamas.
The Israeli army stated that it was having difficulty removing the bodies buried in the demolished cemeteries. IDF/GPO/SIPA/Shutterstock
“We tried to move it to the side as much as possible,” he said of the unearthed body. “But remember, when we’re fighting in this place, and your enemies flank you again and again and again and use this compound to hide, there’s not much you can do.”
The IDF has faced criticism for exhuming bodies in Gaza after a CNN investigation earlier this month documented Israeli soldiers’ conduct at the graves.
UNESCO has previously urged Hamas and Israel to refrain from attacking important cultural sites, with the destruction of cemeteries and mosques considered a war crime under the Rome Statute, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Israel argued that the protection was invalid when the site was used for military purposes, with the IDF defending its actions as necessary to dismantle the Hamas terrorist network and locate more than 130 hostages held in Gaza.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
