Earth, Sun, and Water: The Elements that Fuel Hamas’s Tunnels
by Daphné Richemond-Barak
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07.03.2025 at 06:00am
Earth, Sun, and Water: The Elements that Fuel Hamas’s Tunnels Image
How did Hamas manage the longest underground warfare campaign in history? A lawsuit recently filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia tells the untold story of how Hamas’s tunnels were sustained by and intertwined with civilian infrastructure — enabling the survivability and continuity of the chain of command even under significant military pressure.
Given Israel’s ongoing military operation in the Gaza Strip, Hamas’s tunnel complex and sophisticated infrastructure continues to be in the limelight.
Any discussion of Gaza’s future is woefully incomplete without addressing Hamas’s longtime underground, cross-border network of tunnels. This tunnel system has enabled Hamas to sustain its longest-ever war with Israel.
While the Israel Defense Forces was able to destroy cross-border tunnels dug between Gaza and Israel during the 2014 Gaza war, tunnel systems inside Gaza continued to expand and improve. These underground systems crisscross Gaza, reach hundreds of miles long and several floors down, and host all types of military equipment – from rocket launching pads to command-and-control centers, weapon manufacturing infrastructure, ammunition caches, and living quarters.
https://smallwarsjournal.com/2025/07/03/earth-sun-and-water-the-elements-that-fuel-hamass-tunnels/