by Guido Olimpio
Even 80 meters deep, created for “commercial” reasons and soon turning out to be “allies” of the militiamen, they were converted into passageways for war material and for incursions into the Jewish state
The latest warning on Monday morning: Terrorists could attack via secret tunnels that run under the Gaza-Israel border. Warning based on evidence and justified by the history of the conflict. This method is not the creation of a particular faction, but the consequence of the situation in the Gaza Strip.
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Surrounded, besieged and with few border crossings, it is one of the most populous areas in the world. The Palestinians then found solutions to smuggle goods, people, fuel and weapons out of Egypt by passing under the fences. The first tunnels were dug around 1989 by some “clans” for “commercial” reasons and over time served as a supply line for the armed groups.
During a visit to the area in 2000, an official vaguely mentioned the danger to me and didn’t even have a photo to show the media. Then a lot changed. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” declared Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, referring specifically to the tunnels. The guerrillas have been remodeling them for over twenty years for three purposes: logistically, to obtain war materials; defensive, to prevent Israeli ground interventions; offensive to send commandos into the Jewish state and avoid surveillance. From the roughly constructed tunnels they emerged to structures equipped with lights and supports, even 60 to 80 meters deep, to ensure the rapid transport of the porters. And the tunnels immediately turned out to be “allies” of the militiamen.
The Palestinians used it to capture soldiers, lay mines and attack patrols. In 2014, the military discovered a passage with four motorcycles in it: they were supposed to be used for an incursion into a kibbutz with the aim of kidnapping hostages. Mission on a smaller scale than last Saturday. A “market” of tunnels has also been created, with teams dedicated to human trafficking ready to rent them, and they may now have become cells for Israeli and foreign prisoners.
One crisis after another has made its way onto Israel’s priority list. The defense discovered over fifty of them through tips and the use of sophisticated means. Sensors, seismographs and “secret” devices helped the army as the Egyptians flooded areas on their side of the border with sewage. Several collapses, some of which were artificially induced, led to the deaths of the miners. Jerusalem asked the US for cooperation and then built a roughly 60-kilometer-long underground barrier around Gaza to make life difficult for the excavators. They completed it in 2021, using 14,000 tons of iron and concrete and costing over a billion dollars. The Luftwaffe deployed new systems to destroy a network of tunnels during the same period, a major achievement that was never final and was accompanied by controversy over what could be done. And judging by the warning addressed to citizens in these hours, the invisible gates are still open.
October 10, 2023 (modified October 10, 2023 | 12:59)
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