Israeli, US officials 'astonished' by Hamas tunnels: NYT
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Israeli officials told NYT that the tunnels would take years to deactivate, expressing surprise at their "scope, depth, and quality."
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Israeli soldiers exit a tunnel that their military claimed the Palestinian Resistance used to attack the "Erez" crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestine, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023 (AP Photo)
The New York Times has revealed intimate details of the shock expressed by some Israeli and American officials regarding tunnels in Gaza used by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
One tunnel in Gaza was large enough for a senior Hamas leader to drive a car through. Another was approximately three football fields long. The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) claimed they discovered a spiral staircase beneath the home of a top Hamas leader, leading to a tunnel around seven floors deep.
Video and photo footage of the tunnels showcase why the IOF were terrified of the tunnels before their onslaught in Gaza.
The IOF now has reason to believe there are scores more tunnels beneath Gaza and US and Israeli officials have expressed surprise at the "scope, depth, and quality" of the tunnels, even some of the gear used by Hamas to construct the tunnels.
Senior Israeli officials anonymously told NYT that the network is estimated to be between 350 and 450 miles long, which is exceptional for a territory with a longest point of about 25 miles. Two of the officers also estimated that there are around 5,700 different shafts heading down to the tunnels.
Aaron Greenstone, a former CIA officer with experience in the Middle East expressed that Hamas made use of the "time and resources over the last 15 years to turn Gaza into a fortress."
The tunnels are now considered a "subterranean nightmare" for the IOF and every strategic purpose the IOF has in Gaza is an attempt to destroy them.
كتائب القسام توزع مشاهد حول استدراج قوة إسرائيلية راجلة لأحد الأنفاق وإيقاعهم في كمين محكم في منطقة الشيخ رضوان نهاية الشهر الماضي.#الميادين #فلسطين #غزة pic.twitter.com/Y6Z5kmrmfh
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) January 10, 2024
Israeli officials admitted that destroying the tunnels would not be an "easy task," since they need to be mapped, examined for captives, and not simply impaired but made irreparable. Recent attempts to obliterate the tunnels by flooding them with seawater were unsuccessful.
Over the course of the war on Gaza, "Israel" claimed that the captives were being held by the Resistance in tunnels under the Strip. Meanwhile, such a measure, if successful per Israeli objectives, would almost certainly lead to the death of captives placed in the targeted networks.
The official anticipated that it would take years to deactivate the tunnel system.
"Help Yahalom Fight Hamas in Their Tunnels," The Times of Israel headlined a report published in December, linking a donation destination to the Yahalom Foundation.
"Israel turns to the Yahalom .. unit, an elite force of commandos. And Yahalom turns to YOU," it continued.
Over 100 days into the ongoing war on Gaza, the Israeli occupation army is yet to achieve any of its declared military objectives, on top of which is the "eradication of Hamas" and "destroying its infrastructures," mainly represented by its tunnel network, despite the significant recorded losses its forces are incurring on the battlefield against the Resistance.
For weeks, top US military and security officials have warned that going for Resistance tunnels is not an easy task or even achievable. This sentiment was shared even by prominent Israeli army figures, many of whom had long years of combat experience, especially when it comes to besieged Gaza. Their criticism was proven correct, as, so far, the occupation army has admitted it was unable to effectively damage the tunnels' infrastructure.
