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The Israeli military has assembled several large pumps that could flood the Hamas tunnels under the Gaza Strip with seawater, driving out terrorists hiding there, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials.
Construction of five large seawater pumps was completed in November about a mile north of Al-Shati refugee camp. Each pump is capable of lifting water from the Mediterranean and moving thousands of cubic meters of water per hour, which would flood the tunnels within weeks, the report said.
Israel has not yet committed to the plan and it is unclear whether it would attempt to flood the tunnels while hostages, including Americans, are still held by Hamas. The Palestinian terror group captured around 240 people during the October 7 attack on Israel and brought them back to the Gaza Strip.
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According to the report, Israel has identified around 800 tunnels under Gaza that Hamas has used to transport fighters, store weapons and plan terrorist attacks on Israel. However, Israeli officials believe the tunnel network is much larger.
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Israeli soldiers operate at the opening of a tunnel at the Al-Shifa hospital compound in Gaza City, amid the Israeli army’s ongoing ground operation against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, November 22, 2023. (Portal/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo)
By flooding the tunnels for several weeks, Israel would allow Hamas terrorists and potential hostages to leave, the news agency reported, citing a source familiar with the plan.
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“We are not sure how successful the pumping will be as no one knows the details of the tunnels and the terrain around them,” the source said. “It’s impossible to know whether this will be effective because we don’t know how seawater drains into tunnels where no one has been before.”
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A view shows the entrance to the shaft of an underground Hamas tunnel, which the Israeli military said was exposed during Israel’s ground operation against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as seen in a screenshot from a video released by the Israeli Defense Forces on December 3, 2023. (ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES/Handout via Portal)
The Wall Street Journal said an Israel Defense Forces official declined to comment on the flood plan, but said: “The IDF is working to dismantle Hamas’ terror capabilities in various ways, using various military and technological means. “
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U.S. officials were briefed on the plan last month, the Wall Street Journal reported, but the U.S. does not know how close Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is to implementing the plan.
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An Israeli soldier secures a tunnel under the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, during the Israeli army’s ongoing ground operation against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, November 22, 2023. (Portal/Ronen Zvulun)
Israel is committed to continuing its war effort until Hamas is eradicated from Gaza. The Israeli military said it launched its 10,000th airstrike against the terror group in the Gaza Strip late Sunday.
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Israel has vowed to do everything in its power to protect civilians as it targets Hamas and its network of tunnels. Many of the 10,000 airstrikes were aimed at destroying Hamas’ underground labyrinth.
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The IDF says it has attacked over 400 different Hamas targets since the ceasefire agreement collapsed on Friday. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Sunday that Hamas was responsible for the end of the ceasefire because they “have additional women and children that we know they are holding, and they refuse to to release them, did not release them”. .”
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“Our policy is clear: we will combat by force any threat directed against our territory,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement.