As Israel continues its advance in northern Gaza, its Defense Forces have vowed to destroy Hamas’ 300-mile tunnel system — a key transport route for the terror group.
Known as the Gaza Metro, the tunnel system runs under Palestinian territory with multiple entrances and exits at schools, hospitals, mosques and public houses.
Some of the entrances are even believed to be at al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s main medical center which also serves as a shelter for displaced Palestinians, a claim Hamas has denied.
The tunnels are a vast blind spot for Israel, where Hamas fighters can engage in guerrilla warfare and evade Israeli airstrikes in shafts that reach 130 feet deep.
Tunnels are also ideal routes for transporting weapons and hostages.
Israel’s last major attack into the underground system took place in 2014, during Operation Protective Edge when IDF soldiers battled Hamas for 50 days while scouting the underground network.
Hamas operates a 300-mile network of tunnels under Gaza known as the “Gaza Metro.” REUTERS The dark and narrow passage became the terrorist group’s biggest advantage against Israeli fighters. AFP via Getty Images
Since then, units in the IDF have undergone extensive training to fight in tight tunnels, but experts fear Hamas still has an advantage in underground battlefields that may be filled with traps.
Underground defenses
The existence of a large tunnel running under Gaza was first reported in 2006, and it was used mainly as a way to bypass the Israeli blockade after Hamas was elected to power.
The tunnel was meant to smuggle food and other necessities to the more than 2 million Palestinians living in the enclave, but Hamas quickly took control of the route and began expanding it over the years for military purposes.
The IDF has previously taken journalists on a tour of the tunnels it has captured, showing them to be sophisticated structures with concrete walls and electricity while being wide enough for cars to drive through, the Washington Post reported.
Several entrances to Hamas tunnels are known to be located around hospitals, mosques, schools and utility stations, effectively using public structures as shields. Israel Defense Forces Tunnels allow Hamas terrorists to transport weapons throughout Gaza, as the route also has lighting and enough space for cars and small vehicles to pass through. IDF/X
However, for the uninitiated, traveling through the tunnel can be crowded as many passages are only a few feet high and lack lighting.
In this tight space, the veteran Hamas fighters will have the upper hand against the IDF soldiers, who will likely face ambushes first.
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Ahead of the start of the war against Hamas, Bruce Hoffman, an expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, warned of the dangers posed by the tunnel, saying it was likely where 239 hostages were being held by Hamas.
“These places and perhaps the hostages themselves will probably be laden with traps,” Hoffman wrote in a grave briefing. “This is a huge challenge that has never been faced before.”
Israel last fought in a tunnel during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.Getty Images
Colin P. Clarke, a conflict and terrorism expert at the Soufan Group, noted that Israel faces an uphill battle in the “Gaza Metro” tunnel system.
“Anytime you’re dealing with a network of underground tunnels, it becomes very complex,” the expert told iNews. “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.”
What is Israel’s strategy to eliminate Hamas terrorist tunnels?
During the 2014 conflict, Israel was able to map several entrances and exits to the Gaza Metro, identifying underground bases housing weapons and fighters.
Dr. Daphné Richemond Barak, a professor at Israel’s Lauder School of Government and an expert on underground warfare, said since 2014, the IDF has been training how to conduct underground combat in identified tunnels.
“The IDF also uses a simulator where you put on these virtual reality glasses, which will then take you into a virtual tunnel,” he told CNN of the intensive training.
Some Hamas tunnels are as deep as 130 feet, allowing fighters to evade Israeli airstrikes. IDF/X
The Israeli military may also be able to turn the tunnel into a major vulnerability for Hamas by using a new weapon called a “sponge bomb.”
The new bomb consists of a chemical compound that quickly expands and hardens when thrown, allowing Israeli soldiers to seal off passages in tunnels.
The device would leave Hamas fighters without escape and allow Israeli commandos to secure passage while searching for hostages, according to reports.
An Israeli soldier walks inside a Hamas tunnel along the Gaza border that was seized in 2018.AP
Barak added that Israel is also likely to attack the tunnel with a high-pressure water system, which “will cause the collapse of the tunnel structure.”
It remains unclear the method used by the IDF to take out the terrorist tunnel, which was the site of a recent ground attack in northern Gaza where Israeli forces have touted the neutralization of more than 600 Hamas targets in recent days.
As one mission saw the safe rescue of a captured IDF fighter, the Israeli military reiterated that the key to victory was the dismantling of the Gaza Metro.
“Destroying Hamas means destroying their terror tunnel network,” the IDF said in a statement Sunday.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
