What is the use of Israel for the war of tunnels in Gaza?
In a report, Al-Mayadeen examined the underground tunnels of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and the importance of these tunnels.
After the heavy defeat of the army units of the occupying Quds regime in the border areas of Gaza from the Palestinian resistance fighters, the Zionist political and military authorities, seeing the corpses of their soldiers in the streets of the Gaza Strip, were sure that the cost of entering this geographical area would be very high for them. An area that is unknown to them in terms of human and military capabilities, especially due to the presence of Hamas tunnels under it. These tunnels are considered to be a kind of strategic reserves for Hamas’ field and logistics operations and movements, and they are considered an invisible defense line and a big and clear challenge for the enemy; A great challenge that threatens any ground entry into Gaza with the aim of hitting the Hamas movement.
Therefore, during the attack on Gaza, the invaders targeted different areas of Gaza with different missiles to destroy these complex tunnel networks. Hamas fighters have long used these tunnels as a military base, weapons depot, residence, hideout, and prisoner hiding place (according to Israeli military officials). One of the prisoners who was freed described the place he was taken to after being captured in the Zionist settlement “Kibbutz” in the south of the occupied territories, as a spider’s tunnel network.
What is the story of the Gaza tunnels?
In fact, the history of using these tunnels in Gaza goes back to the late 90s of the last century and the beginning of the first decade of the 21st century. Due to the severe blockade of Gaza, which has intensified after the Al-Aqsa storm operation, these tunnels were considered as the lifeline of the people of Gaza and the channel for smuggling goods and weapons.
“Downey Richmond Barak”, an assistant professor at the Reichsman University of the Zionist regime and the author of the book “Underground Battle”, said that after the withdrawal of the occupying forces of Israel from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and the coming to power of Hamas the following year, the nature of the tunnels began to change. did
He further clarified: that Israel’s point of view about the threat posed by these tunnels also changed. In the past, Israel did not pay as much attention to these tunnels as it does today.
From Barak’s point of view, these tunnels are a source of strategic concern for the occupiers.
The capture of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas in 2006 and his transfer through the tunnels to Gaza brought about a big change in the view of Israel and the settlers of this regime towards this intractable threat. What made the Zionists worry and panic more was that a decade ago, the occupying regime of Jerusalem found a tunnel 1.5 miles long and 66 feet deep, which reaches from Gaza to the occupied lands. At that time, it was estimated that the construction cost of this tunnel would be approximately 10 million dollars and 800 tons of concrete was needed for its construction.
According to Barak, Hamas has created an underground city in Gaza over the years. According to him, due to the severe restrictions imposed by Israel on the import of construction materials to the Gaza Strip, the work done by Hamas was a complex project.
Although there is no exact number and figure regarding the length of these tunnels, Zionist experts estimate that Hamas can control about 300 miles, which is nearly 482 kilometers of tunnels.
What is the importance of these tunnels?
In fact, the army commanders of the occupying Zionist regime have no clear and accurate idea about the resistance tunnels and in this regard, they only have estimates that may be wrong. For this reason, the Zionist regime believes that the size and shape of these tunnels will be different and their narrow corridors will end in large rooms that are used as weapons warehouses and shelters for Hamas commanders.
In addition (according to the information published by the Zionist spy agency), the depth of these tunnels reaches 150 feet, which is approximately the height of a 14-story building. This tunnel network is winding and uneven. Some parts of these tunnels are designed to avoid being discovered by Israel. According to the Zionists, these tunnels are equipped with electricity, and most importantly, the engine was seen moving inside them, and some carts were also used to transport weapons.
John Spencer, the head of the Department of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern Warfare Institute of the American Military Academy, said that the soil in Gaza – compared to the hard rocks found on the borders of Palestine and Lebanon – allows for easy drilling, and this allows Hamas to Expand your tunnel network quickly. He added: that Hamas uses ready-mixed concrete and this increases the speed of construction.
In addition, analysts state that in recent years, Hamas has had to increase the depth of the tunnels in order to avoid the discovery of the tunnels and to be safe from Israeli attacks.
What reason does the Zionist regime have for the presence of its prisoners in the tunnels? Is it possible to free them?
After the release of one of the Zionist prisoners named “Lioshetz” and the release of another prisoner, Israel became more suspicious about keeping some prisoners in the tunnels. Therefore, Tel Aviv believes that the number of prisoners who may be in the tunnels is unknown; Especially the fact that Liushetz said that he was kept among a group of 25 prisoners.
Based on this, in the process of efforts to return prisoners, Hamas tunnels are a cause of complications for Israel and its allies (and the United States at the head of them); Because the network of tunnels is extensive and complex, it is almost impossible to map them, and it is also difficult to penetrate these tunnels.