By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM/GAZA (Worthy News) – Israeli troops fighting against Hamas say they have uncovered the largest concrete and iron-girded tunnel so far to carry carloads of “terrorist fighters” from Gaza right up to the border.
The reported discovery, which Hamas didn’t immediately confirm, came more than 70 days after the Palestinian Islamist group entered Israel to kill some 1,200 people. They also took some 240 people hostage in attacks that also included widespread rape and torture in Israel’s southern towns and at a music event.
Hamas, condemned as a terrorist organization by Israel and most of its allies, was long accused of hiding its fighters, weapons, and hostages in extensive tunnel networks beneath civilian sites such as hospitals.
Razing or disabling hundreds of kilometers of underground passages and bunkers is among the aims of the offensive Israel launched after Hamas terrorists went on a killing, officials say.
Among the sites that Hamas overran in the October 7 attack was the Erez border crossing between Gaza and Israel. Just 100 meters (yards) south of the checkpoint, concealed in a sand dune, the military showed reporters the exit point of what it said was a flagship Hamas project.
The tunnel ran down diagonally to a depth of 50 meters, expanding to a relatively spacious 3 meters (10 feet) in height and width, with electrical fittings.
Chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari put the entire length of the tunnel at 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) – enough to reach into northern Gaza City, once the heart of Hamas governance and now a devastated combat zone.
HONEYCOMB OF PASSAGEWAYS
The honeycomb of passageways features drainage and sewage systems, electricity, ventilation, and a communication network as well as rails, witnesses said.
The floor is compacted earth, the walls are reinforced concrete, and the entrance is a metal cylinder with 1.5 centimeters (0.6 inches) thick walls.
It was “the biggest tunnel we found in Gaza … meant to target the (Erez) crossing,” Hagari said, without specifying whether Hamas used it for the October 7 attack.
“Millions of dollars were invested in this tunnel. It took years to build this tunnel … Vehicles could drive through.”
It also raised questions about how Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip had used Western and even Israeli financial aid.
Diplomats recently confirmed that for years, Israeli intelligence officers even escorted a Qatari official into Gaza, where he doled out money from suitcases filled with millions of dollars.
Other diplomats, including those backed by the United Nations, also brought suitcases and bags of tens of millions of dollars, hoping to maintain peace in Gaza, Worthy News learned.
BILLIONS RECEIVED
Allowing billions of dollars over roughly a decade to enter Gaza was a gamble by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a steady flow of money would maintain peace in Gaza, critics say.
However, instead, much of that money was used for military purposes, including building tunnels in Gaza, the eventual launching point of the October 7 attacks.
The tunnels have been a challenge for Israel’s engineers, who worried that the networks could conceal hostages held by Hamas. That has slowed an offensive whose steep Palestinian civilian toll has alarmed world powers, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Hagari showed reporters a video of Mohammed Sinwar, brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and himself, a senior operative in the group building the project. He was seen sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle that was apparently driving inside the tunnel.
On October 29, Israeli media reported that troops killed “several terrorists” who attacked Erez, also a kibbutz in southwestern Israel, after accessing the area from a tunnel.
Israel’s military has not confirmed whether that referred to the tunnel now shown to the world.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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