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Topline
Israel discovered the largest Hamas-built tunnel in Gaza found to date just a quarter-mile from a crossing between Israel and northern Gaza, its military said Sunday—raising questions about how the passage went undetected amid concerns over intelligence lapses before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Israeli soldiers are seen in a tunnel that the military says Hamas militants used to attack the Erez … [+]
Key Facts
The tunnel, discovered several weeks ago by Israeli troops but revealed for the first time Sunday, is up to 164 feet deep at some points and two-and-a-half miles long, the Israeli military said.
The tunnel’s entrance was just a few hundred meters from the Erez crossing into Israel—which was broken through on Oct. 7—and a nearby Israeli military base, where Hamas fighters killed at least three soldiers and kidnapped more.
Referred to by the Israeli military as “Sinwar’s secret” after Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammad, the tunnel is “for moving massive assets,” Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said, and was used to transport military supplies and vehicles in preparation for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
The Israeli government took a group of reporters to view the tunnel and showed video footage to reporters that shows Mohammed Sinwar being driven through the tunnel prior to the start of the war.
While the Israeli military was aware of the vast tunnel network—also known as the “Gaza Metro”—linking Gaza to Israel and Egypt as far back as 2014, the new, large section revealed Sunday may have went undetected since it stops just short of the Israeli border, while Israeli intelligence focus on tunnels that extend into Israel, Maj. Nir Dinar said, according to the Associated Press.
Crucial Quote
“We will hunt them even if we need to go down into the tunnels,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters while touring the tunnel, the AP reported. “We also need to do it with attention to the rescue of our hostages and the understanding that maybe some of them are in the tunnels.”
Key Background
In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, when Hamas killed approximately 1,200 and took more than 140 hostages from Israel into Gaza, videos produced by the terrorist group revealed extensive preparations for the assault, raising questions about how it went undetected. Hamas footage released over the past year on Telegram shows its fighters practicing blowing through replicas of the Israel border and attacking a life-size mock-up of an Israeli town building by building, the Associated Press reported previously. Israeli soldiers stationed at the Gaza border also ignored a warning from intelligence forces about an uptick in activity on Gazan militant networks, the New York Times reported.
What We Don’t Know
The full extent of the tunnels. According to the Wall Street Journal, Israeli soldiers have said to have identified over 800 exits to tunnels since the war began, but that the majority of tunnels are still unknown.
What To Watch For
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel this week, where he will push the Israeli military to scale back its large-scale bombing campaign, and instead deploy a more targeted operation to eliminate Hamas leaders. The directive comes after President Joe Biden acknowledged a rift with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, lamenting Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” campaign that has killed more than 18,000 people since the start of the war, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday.
Israeli soldiers exit a tunnel that the military says Hamas militants used to attack the Erez … [+]
Israeli soldiers are seen in a tunnel that the military says Hamas militants used to attack the Erez … [+]
An Israeli soldier secures a tunnel near the border with Israel on December 15, 2023 in northern … [+]
Israeli soldiers stand near the opening of a tunnel near the border with Israel on December 15, … [+]
This picture taken during a media tour organised by the Israeli military on December 15, 2023, shows … [+]
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