Israel announces discovery of Hamas tunnel ‘large enough to drive vehicles through’
Israel has announced the discovery of the largest Hamas tunnel in Gaza to date, just 400 metres from what used to be a widely used crossing on the border between Israel and the coastal enclave.
The tunnel, right next to the Erez border crossing, reaches as deep as 50 metres underground and contains plumbing, electricity and sophisticated measures to repel enemy troops in the event of an attack, the military said on Sunday.
So far, Israeli troops have explored 4km of the tunnel, the military added. Hamas claimed in 2021 that its tunnel network spans 500km. Some of the tunnels are used for smuggling across the Egyptian border, but Israel is most concerned about the intricate network that could be used by fighters to store weapons, supplies and Israeli hostages in secrecy.
Israel has accused Hamas of funnelling money, including western aid to Gaza, into the network at the expense of Gazan civilians, whose average private sector salary was about $12 a day in 2019, according to ReliefWeb International.
Military spokesman Lt Col Richard Hecht said the tunnel near Erez was “large enough to drive vehicles through” and had been “intentionally dug near a crossing dedicated to the movement of Gazans into Israel for work and medical care”.
The military released footage that appeared to show Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar driving through the tunnel in a car. The military said Mr Sinwar’s brother, Muhammad Sinwar, had been responsible for building the tunnel.
The discovery is being presented as a tactical success as Israel continues its push to eradicate Hamas, which
controls the Gaza Strip. Hamas launched an assault into southern Israeli towns on October 7, taking about 240 people hostage.
Many of the hostages are believed to be held underground in tunnels.
Yocheved Lifshitz, who was one of the first Israeli hostages to be freed from Gaza, described a “spider web of tunnels” that stretch for kilometres beneath the enclave.
The tunnels also allow Hamas to launch military attacks against Israeli troops.
Joel Roskin, a geologist at Bar-Ilan University, told The National that “the tunnel was built to enable a larger and focused attack [on Israel] by mobilised vehicles”.
“The reported length would enable [Hamas] close to a completely concealed approach to the Armstice Line.
“It is more evidence of Hamas’s intentions to destroy and murder Israelis,” Mr Roskin said.
The tunnel also provides Israel with evidence that its military campaign in Gaza is achieving operational successes, as allies continue to put pressure on the country over the heavy civilian death toll.
Destroying Hamas’s tunnel network is a key objective of Israel’s campaign.
The military says it has found hundreds of shafts so far, many of which “were built under hospitals, schools, kindergartens and other sensitive sites”.
The difficulty of fighting underground has even prompted the military to form units within the Yahalom combat engineering force to locate, enter and destroy tunnels.
The logic of the mission and its consequences for Gazan civilians have come under intense scrutiny since the Israeli military raided Al Shifa Hospital in November.
Israel said Hamas had a command centre and accompanying tunnels underneath the hospital, Gaza’s largest, where tens of thousands of civilians had sought shelter. Hamas has denied the allegations.
After storming the hospital, the Israeli military was accused of failing to produce evidence of a significant tunnel network.
The military released footage that appeared to show Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar driving a car through the tunnel