16 years of rule in the Gaza Strip have allowed Hamas to build defenses through a maze of tunnels and underground caverns, unlike any terrorist organization ever built before. Hamas says the network includes 1,300 tunnels stretching more than 500 kilometers. For comparison, the London Underground (the tube) extends over 400 kilometers. However, Hamas’ claims should be viewed with skepticism. During Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021, for example, the IDF said it hit a total of 100 kilometers of tunnels.
Regardless, it is the most expensive and grandiose construction project ever carried out in the Gaza Strip. The excavation cost per meter is estimated to range between $200 and $300, making the total excavation cost around $1.5 billion. The Hamas tunnel network, according to various reports, is as complex as a road network with main tunnels for rapid travel, bypass tunnels, sea tunnels for the exit and entry of terrorist boats, and tunnels that even allow you to ride a motorbike.
The tunnels contain countless explosive charges, trapdoors and other traps that could endanger the life of anyone who enters them. The military pressure currently exerted by the IDF and the Shin Bet in the Gaza Strip is aimed at damaging the infrastructure and leadership of Hamas and obtaining information on the fate of the hostages, but the tunnels, often called the Gaza Metro, pose a considerable risk. challenge. From these wells, Hamas terrorists fire rockets throughout the country, and most of the militants are hiding inside and apparently the 240 hostages are being held captive there.
Even if terrorist organizations have prepared to remain underground for a long time, it will not be easy for them. “It is difficult for terrorists to live so long without sun, light and clean air,” says Dr. Harel Horev, a historian and expert on Palestinians at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. “The tunnels are very humid and require constant ventilation, which makes them more vulnerable.”
He added that the tunnels represent part of Hamas’s security doctrine as well as the pro-Iran axis of resistance’s doctrine called « forward defense. » « It is a concept in which a terrorist organization wins wherever it exists and in which the role of citizens is to protect the terrorists. Therefore, you will not find that Hamas is providing shelter to the people of Gaza in the tunnels, apart from their family members, because their role is to be on the outside and absorb the IDF bombings. »
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The difference between the different tunnels inside Gaza
Professor Yoel Raskin, geomorphologist and geologist at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Bar-Ilan University, distinguishes three types of tunnels. First of all, shallow tunnels, 10 meters deep, where activities take place that are accessible from the ground and detectable relatively easily using ground-penetrating radar. These tunnels are connected to the rocket launch shafts. Second, tunnels located at a depth of 20 to 30 meters, where Hamas terrorists store most ammunition and logistical equipment, and where most soldiers stay. Third, tunnels up to 75 meters deep, where Hamas headquarters and nerve centers are located.
According to Professor Raskin, the remaining Hamas leaders in Gaza and the kidnapped Israelis are at this lowest depth. “The water table is at this depth and it is possible that Hamas would pump it to supply water during a siege,” he explains. « There is electricity, food and equipment in the tunnels, and you can barely feel the bombing coming from above. However, the generators that provide electricity to the tunnel system need air, we therefore estimate that they are close to the surface, and this is the Achilles heel of tunnels. »
Tools to fight the underground threat
Since the war broke out in Gaza, the Israeli Air Force has struck as many targets as possible. Before infantry and tanks enter the fray deep in Gaza and particularly in the terrorist tunnels. Among other things, the IDF achieves this through bunker busting bombs.
« Bloomberg » reports that in the past, Israel purchased GBU-39/B small-diameter bombs from Boeing for $735 million. These bombs each weigh 110 kilograms and can be fired at a distance of 64 kilometers and penetrate concrete bunkers 100 centimeters thick.
In addition to these American weapons, the Israeli Air Force also has an Elbit Systems MPR-500 multi-purpose rigid penetration and surface attack bomb. Weighing 250 kilograms, the bomb is designed to penetrate concrete walls and then explode. Considered more reliable than comparable bombs, it has proven itself in previous operations as part of targeted countermeasures that allow surgical damage to apartments where terrorists are hiding, without damaging the entire building. The bomb is estimated to penetrate to a depth of 30 meters and even deeper.
In addition, the British daily « Daily Telegraph » reported last week that the IDF has a special device known as a « sponge bomb. » This is a chemical device that swells into a large piece of sponge and hardens to seal a tunnel. The purpose of the bomb is to block tunnels and prevent terrorists from escaping, or to encourage them to exit through controlled openings. However, according to the British report, the bomb’s sealing ability is limited, so it cannot cope with all types. of tunnels.
This week, the IDF also unveiled a special tunnel warfare robot, which is serving the Corps of Engineers’ Samur unit, the engineering unit for special missions. The robot resembles those that NASA sends on missions to Mars: it is a kind of rover which includes five cameras and a pair of pincers. The robot transmits images from the depths of the tunnels to soldiers and military headquarters, and is also capable of detecting and launching explosive charges.
The robot enters the tunnels before the engineer soldiers, leads the way and gathers information. However, the robot’s ability to operate at a large distance from the control station is estimated to be limited, due to the difficulty of transmitting electromagnetic signals underground. In addition to the robots, the « Daily Telegraph » published information about drones equipped with night vision that enter underground tunnels.
Aside from the IDF’s technological advantage, Hamas’ tunnels are built to handle the IDF’s toolbox, according to various reports. Some tunnels are built to thwart intelligent robots by building special stairs and slopes. In addition, some tunnels are built in a “zigzag”, which disrupts communications.
One of the questions that has arisen recently is why the army doesn’t just flood the tunnels, thereby drowning the Hamas terrorists. In 2018, the IDF attempted to do this on the northern border, flooding Hezbollah tunnels with water, then with bentonite (a water-absorbing mineral), and finally with another material, including cement. , and thus filled the tunnel from Lebanon.
However, Hamas may have constructed a drainage system including canals and ponds. « Flooding with sewage has proven successful in the past on the Egyptian side (in 2015, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi ordered the flooding of a tunnel from the Gaza Strip after an incident at the border) .
“It’s a liquid that doesn’t penetrate easily, it’s viscous and also has an unpleasant gas effect,” says Raskin.
What is the difference between Hamas and Hezbollah tunnels?
According to Raskin, Gaza’s soil is soft and allows for easy tunneling, which made it possible to build an entire underground city in Gaza. « The soil in the center of the strip consists of loess, a mixture of sand, clay and calcareous biochemical sediments, which makes the work of digging relatively easy, although it becomes more difficult as the we’re sinking, » he explains. “For comparison, the chalky soil of southern Lebanon is much harder.”
Furthermore, unlike the Gaza Strip, a relatively small area of 540 square kilometers, Hezbollah has a larger geographic space in which to expand and take root, including buildings and thick vegetation. The Lebanese terrorist group is therefore not obliged to move its entire logistical and human organization underground.
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – fr.globes.co.il – November 1, 2023.
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