The Israeli army released images of a tunnel discovered in Gaza this Sunday. The tunnels extend for several kilometers and are accessible to small vehicles. The IDF estimates that the construction would have cost several million euros.
IDF in the “Gaza Metro”. After a week-long incursion into the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army claimed on Sunday that it had discovered “the largest tunnel” dug by Hamas. Huge galleries stretching for several kilometers and ending just a few hundred meters from the Hebrew territory.
IDF images published by the army in particular on The floor is made of compacted earth, the walls are made of reinforced concrete and the entrance is a metal cylinder whose walls are 1.5 centimeters thick, according to the AFP photographer who had permission to go there. The latter stated that it was sufficiently large to allow small vehicles to circulate.
More than four kilometers of tunnel
The Israeli army claims to have discovered a large number of weapons there, ready for use in the event of a Hamas attack. “This vast network of tunnels, divided into several branches, stretches for more than four kilometers and is located just 400 meters from the Erez border crossing” between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Israeli forces say it cost millions of euros and was dug for years under the direction of Mohamed Sinouar, the brother of Yahya Sinouar, the Hamas leader considered the architect of the Oct. 7 attack.
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Israel-Hamas war: the “Gaza Metro”, this network of tunnels feared by the IDF
Dubbed the “Gaza Metro” by the Israeli military, the labyrinth of galleries was used for the first time to bypass the blockade Israel imposed after Hamas seized power in the area in 2007. Hundreds of galleries have been dug beneath Egypt's Sinai border to move people, goods, weapons and ammunition between Gaza and the outside world.
In a study published on October 17, the Institute of Modern Warfare at the American Military Academy West Point estimated that Gaza is home to 1,300 galleries spread over 500 kilometers. In early December, the Israeli army said it had discovered more than 800 tunnels, 500 of which were destroyed.
TG