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The extensive network of “terror tunnels” used by Hamaz in the Gaza Strip - their origins, use for a
- Zach
- Nov 3, 2022
- 2 min read
Dubbed the “metro” by Hamas operatives, the vast tunnel system supports Hamas operations in invasion, kidnapping, ambush, and defense - and its scope remains a huge unknown.
By Jake Austin, 3 August 2021
Israeli map, 2021
The huge surge of missile fire between the IDF and Hamas in the Gaza Strip a few months ago was motivated in part by the existence of an immense tunnel system. Few know the full details about them, yet makes many Israelis fear that attacks could emerge from the ground below them. Boasted as being twice as large as the Vietcong tunnel system by a Hamas operative, the system is also a top priority for the Israeli Defense Force. When both parties have a vested interest in exaggerating the size and reach of the tunnel system, it can be difficult to ascertain the truth. Yet this issue remains a constant avenue for further escalation and suffering of innocent people, whether by kidnapping missions into rural Israel or collateral damage from IDF missile strikes targeting the tunnels.
In the mid-1990s, the first tunnels were dug across the borders of Gaza, and used mostly for smuggling purposes from both Egypt and Israel. But over time, financial purposes became political and the tunnel system grew to only cover the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The elected leaders of Gaza, Hamas, are also classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, and the United States, which makes negotiation to control the use and building of tunnels difficult. Hamas is wary of revealing specific details about the network, as is Israel when discussing the technology developed to find and destroy it.
After a 2014 bombing campaign against the tunnels, Israeli officials estimated that Hamas had directed $1.25 billion towards the building and rebuilding of the tunnel system, money that could have gone towards social programs or infrastructure. Other sources have claimed that collapses of buildings in Gaza that claimed innocent lives have been due to literal undermining by tunnel systems. But as trade embargoes and travel restrictions tightened around Gaza, the tunnels became central to Hamas’ goals and the only way to receive certain goods from Egypt, including weapons and medicine. Their versatile use for movement of people, defense, smuggling, and planning excursions into Israel will make them central to the Hamas strategy for years to come.
The tunnels have never been the full source of a ground invasion into Israel, but have been used to conduct raids into rural towns and abduct prisoners of war. In the meantime, border residents are encouraged to report any rumbling or underground noises that may be the construction of a tunnel. IDF forces rush to test the area of reports, but are secretive about results. Attempts to bomb and collapse areas of the tunnel invariably end in death of innocents in the densely packed Gaza. The network will remain a thorn in the side of peaceful resolution under the current status quo, and will hinder any future attempts at peace.
Here is a video of Al-Jazeera journalists being shown part of the tunnels by militants.
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