Dogs, robots and sponge bombs: How Israel is tracking and destroying Hamas tunnels

Israel is intent on wiping out Hamas. Since 7 October when the Palestinian militant group unleashed its terror on the people of Israel, Tel Aviv has taken the war to the group. It has unleashed fierce bombardment on the Gaza Strip and even carried out raids at the Al-Shifa Hospital, claiming that it houses a Hamas command centre.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is also engaged in destroying the network of tunnels that lay below Gaza, which is also known as the “Gaza Metro”. Built by Hamas, this labyrinth of underground constructions house command centres, weapons dumps and stores of food and fuel. It gives Hamas’s fighters the ability to ambush Israeli troops, and to shelter from bombs and artillery.

Claiming that the Hamas militants are hiding there, the IDF is taking all steps necessary to wipe out their tunnel network, and, in turn kill the terrorists too.

In fact, on Friday (17 November), the Israeli troops posted a video of a tunnel inside the Al-Shifa Hospital complex.

Exposing another layer of Hamas’ exploitation of three of the largest hospitals in Gaza:

🔻Inside the Shifa Hospital complex, a Hamas terrorist tunnel was uncovered.

1/3 pic.twitter.com/uGo4uBdTly

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 17, 2023

Tech to find the tunnels

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Israel’s military is deploying a complex array of technologies to find Hamas’ terror tunnels. In absence of spies, Tel Aviv is extensively using surveillance drones to spot the entry of tunnels or ‘patterns of life’ that give clues as to where the entrances are.

Israel has reportedly also been using satellites to detect tunnels. However, Joel Roskin, a geomorphologist who analysed tunnel networks during his time in the IDF, told The Economist that the rubble produced by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza will have made using satellite data harder.

Besides these two methods, Israel is also making use of ground-penetrating radar to identify tunnels below the ground.

Tactics to destroy ‘Gazan Metro’

However, experts say that finding the terror tunnels is just one part of the challenge. Mapping them and then destroying them is a whole other challenge.

For the purpose of mapping these deep and long-winding tunnels, the IDF has been using attack dogs and unmmaned vehicles and robots to map out the area. Israel has been avoiding sending its troops into the tunnels without prior mapping, claiming Hamas has left several booby-traps inside. “We don’t want to go down there. We know that they left us a lot of side-bombs,” an Israeli army officer told reporters for outlets including Reuters, referring to improvised explosive devices. “I think it’s more complicated than the New York City subway.”

Instead IDF has been using innovative and creative methods to seal off the tunnels and then destroy them. One of the ways they are doing this is using exploding gel.

Another method that IDF is using to destroy the tunnels is the use of sponge bombs. For the unaware, sponge bombs are munitions that create a sudden explosion of foam that rapidly expands and then hardens. They contain no explosives but are used to seal off gaps or tunnel entrances from which Hamas operatives may emerge.

An officer who wished to remain anonymous was quoted as telling Reuters, “I think there are other methods being developed.”

The Israeli military said that 130 shafts had been destroyed until last week, but gave no figure for demolished tunnels.

The ‘Gaza Metro’ of terror

Hamas first started constructing these tunnels in the mid-1990s and today the tunnel network is a key reason why Hamas is stronger in Gaza than in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

According to the IDF, the tunnels range from narrow corridors of six feet by three feet to vast passageways that can take cars and even trucks. Most are high enough to allow a man of average height to stand in and often deep enough to avoid the IDF’s bunker-busting bombs, which can penetrate up to 130 feet or 40 metres.

The tunnels are also laced with wires and cables that carry electricity, internet, telephones and military lines. According to a report by Al Jazeera, Hamas may have observation and detection devices that would let them know where the Israelis are so they can remotely explode charges in that exact spot.

With inputs from agencies