The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Sunday that it had discovered “the biggest Hamas tunnel” in Gaza, measuring four kilometers (2.5 miles).
The tunnel, which was secured “a few weeks ago” but just presented to the public on Sunday, is broad enough to drive a huge vehicle through, can reach up to 50 meters down, and is fitted with electricity, ventilation, and communication equipment, according to the IDF.
According to the IDF, it does not pass into Israel and ends 400 meters before the now-closed Erez Crossing on the northern Israeli-Gazan border. During the October 7 attacks, Erez was stormed.
According to the IDF, the tunnel was part of Hamas’ “strategic infrastructure” and would be destroyed. According to an Israeli military video, the tunnel was built for Hamas troop mobility and as a launch site for strikes.
IDF Claims It Has Discovered ‘Biggest Hamas Tunnel’ In Gaza
Footage supplied by the IDF and supposedly filmed by Hamas to demonstrate the tunnel’s development shows a huge vehicle driving into it and a makeshift railroad inside it. CNN was unable to independently confirm the film or the IDF’s assertions.
In a statement issued on Sunday, they said that the tunnel system was the brainchild of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s brother, Muhammad Sinwar. The IDF had no proof to back up their assertion.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claims to have discovered “hundreds of terror tunnel shafts throughout the Gaza Strip” and claims to be working “to locate and destroy dozens of attack tunnel routes.”
Hamas has claimed to have dug 500 kilometers (311 miles) of tunnels beneath Gaza, but it is uncertain whether that amount is correct.
Tunnels beneath Gaza are used to smuggle items from Egypt, launch operations against Israel, store rockets and ammo depots, and house Hamas command and control centers.
Some of those kidnapped in the October 7 attacks said they were taken to them and forced to march for hours.
IDF Claims It Has Discovered ‘Biggest Hamas Tunnel’ In Gaza
The Israeli soldiers discovered a subterranean shaft on the grounds of the Al-Shifa hospital complex, the enclave’s largest medical facility, last month. Its discovery has been important to the IDF’s allegation that a network of tunnels beneath the hospital exists.
Last month, Israeli forces attacked Gaza’s largest hospital, accusing Hamas of running a command center beneath it. According to Hamas and hospital officials, it has solely been utilized to treat patients.
Separately, a US official told CNN on Tuesday that Israel has started flooding sections of Gaza’s tunnels with seawater in an attempt to destroy the underground network, adding that they are “carefully testing out” the approach “on a limited basis.”
If the experiment is effective, flooding might be scaled up to impair the tunnel network on a bigger scale.
SOURCE – (CNN)
