Israeli Combat Engineers Begin to Tackle Hamas Tunnel Network
Joel B. Pollak 2 Nov 2023
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is beginning to tackle the challenge of Hamas’s underground tunnel network, in which it hides terrorists, weapons, supplies — and hostages.
There are hundreds of miles of Hamas tunnels underneath Gaza, often built with supplies that were supposed to be used for civilian construction and humanitarian aid. Some tunnels were built through the use of child slave labor, leading to the deaths of Palestinian children. And, as critics have noted, none of the tunnels offer bomb shelters for Palestinian civilians — only terrorists.
The tunnels have already been a challenge for the IDF as it penetrates deeper into Gaza. Overnight, dozens of Hamas terrorists emerged from tunnels to attack Israeli soldiers, who were able to repel the attack without casualties, but only after an intense fight.
The effort to close, collapse, clear out, and eliminate the tunnels will likely define the next stage of the war in Gaza. And it could take months.
The Times of Israel reported Thursday, citing the Walla news website:
The combat engineers are using various types of robots and explosive devices to destroy the tunnels, detonate any booby traps installed by Hamas, and kill terrorists, the report says.
“Maybe at first they were able to harass us, sting us by firing from tunnel exits, but after we established control of the areas, the engineering operation started,” a senior officer in the Southern Command tells Walla.
“We are going to collapse the entrances and the tunnels on them. It will become a death zone. They made a mistake, they chose to be in a place they cannot escape from. They will die in the tunnels,” he said.
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https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/11/02/israeli-combat-engineers-begin-to-tackle-hamas-tunnel-network/
