Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on February 7 that it had uncovered a major tunnel in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, previously used by senior leaders of the Hamas Movement and later converted into a hostage-holding facility
Troops of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit and other special forces under the 98th Division raided the “strategic” tunnel, according to the IDF, which also noted that the tunnel was around a kilometer long.
The IDF said senior Hamas leaders had previously resided in the tunnel, and hostages were later held there during the war.
“The troops battled terrorists in the tunnel, breached blast doors and neutralized explosive devices,” the IDF said.
In the tunnel, Israeli troops found a holding cell where hostages had previously been kept, a bathroom, and a resting area for the fighters guarding the hostages, the IDF said.
A total of 12 hostages were held in the tunnel at different times, three of whom have already returned to Israel, the IDF said. It added that it also recovered various findings and weapons in the tunnel.
Some 132 hostages remain in Gaza out of the 240 taken during the October 7 surprise attack, which was planned and led by Hamas.
The IDF said that the newly-uncovered tunnel was built “in the heart of a civilian area in Khan Younis” and according to its estimates, millions of shekels were invested in its construction. It says the tunnel is part of a “branching underground labyrinth” that also connects to another tunnel where hostages were held, revealed by the IDF several weeks ago.
A vast network of tunnels used for smuggling and warfare purposes exists under Gaza. The underground tunnel network allows Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions to store and shield weapons, gather and move underground, communicate, train, launch offensive attacks, transport hostages and retreat without being detected by the IDF. This network of tunnels is colloquially referred to as the Gaza metro.
The IDF has been using several tactics to destroy tunnels under Gaza, from carpet bombing to pumping seawater into certain areas.
Still, The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Israeli and American officials believe that as much as 80 percent of the tunnel system under the Strip may be intact.
