An imminent Israeli ground invasion of Gaza would have to breach a 300-mile underground tunnel system run by the Hamas terror group, experts warn.
The 300,000 troops ready to enter rogue territory will face stealth traps and guerrilla warfare in a series of complicated routes, which serve as one of Hamas’ most dangerous advantages in the war, Colin P. Clarke, a conflict and terrorism expert at the Soufan Group, told iNews.
“Whenever you’re dealing with a network of underground tunnels, it gets very complicated,” the expert warned. “Hamas will prepare for the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] ground attack and know this tunnel inside out.
“Some of them may be caught in the dark,” Clarke added. “Being prepared to fight in such an area is extremely difficult and requires deep intelligence on what the tunnel network looks like – which Israel may not have.”
Israel has destroyed more than 62 miles of tunnels by 2021, but Hamas has repeatedly invested in the tunnel system, allegedly diverting millions of dollars from aid meant for Palestinians to do so.
Hamas has control of a 300-mile tunnel system under Gaza that can be used to fight the IDF. Getty Images Part of the tunnel system connects with Egypt to allow Gaza to bypass the Israeli blockade.Getty Images
The tunnel system has previously been used to launch attacks on the Jewish state and it has multiple entrances and exits in schools and public buildings, areas that may serve as blind spots for Israel.
Some of the tunnels can also run as deep as 130 feet, allowing members of the terrorist group to find immediate cover from airstrikes.
Bruce Hoffman, an expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, echoed the danger posed by the tunnel, noting it is already the likely location of more than 100 hostages already taken by Hamas.
“These places and maybe even the hostages themselves are probably going to be laden with traps,” Hoffman warned in a graveside briefing Monday. “This is a huge challenge that has never been faced before.”
An Israeli official tours part of the tunnel system captured in 2014.UPI The tunnels can go as deep as 130 feet, allowing Hamas to avoid incoming Israeli airstrikes. AP
Clarke said Israel should be able to mitigate some of the risk by sending drones and unmanned vehicles into the tunnels to map them and launch traps, but the effectiveness of these methods remains unknown.
Alexander Grinberg, of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said that while the tunnels were suitable for Hamas to engage in guerrilla warfare, they could also be used against terrorists.
“When a tunnel is found, it can be closed to cover the people inside,” Grinberg told France24, making it easier for the IDF to remove trapped enemy units.
Entrances to the tunnels could be located in civilian buildings, complicating IDF planned attacks.REUTERS The IDF destroyed about 62 miles of the tunnel system in 2021. IDF
The vast tunnels that run under Gaza were not originally used for acts of terrorism. Their existence was first reported in 2006 when they were used as a means of bypassing the Israeli blockade put in place when Hamas was in power and smuggling food and necessities for the 2 million Palestinians living in the territory.
However, Hamas soon took over the tunnel for its own military purposes and continued to expand it over the years.
Hamas leaders described the tunnel as an “innovation,” but insisted it was mostly for defensive purposes, the Washington Post reported.
The IDF has previously taken journalists on a tour of the tunnels it has captured, showing them to be sophisticated structures with concrete walls, electricity and cars, according to the newspaper.
Israeli troops are being sent in force to guard the Gaza border in preparation for an invasion of Palestinian territory. REUTERS An Israeli soldier shows the entrance to a small tunnel near the Gaza Strip operated by Hamas.Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously warned that the tunnel would be used to house kidnapped Israeli civilians, fears that were finally realized after Saturday’s massacre of more than 1,000 people in the Jewish state.
Netanyahu now says his country has no choice but to invade Gaza, a large-scale military operation not seen since 2014.
In addition to Hoffman weighing the military tactics of the war, he issued a stark warning about the loss of civilian life.
“How this crisis will end is anyone’s guess, but more innocent bloodshed – Israeli, Palestinian, and indeed the non-combatants of other nations – is certain,” he wrote.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
