Vantage | Why Hamas' underground tunnels are Israel's biggest challenge

Israel missed the red flags, but Hamas wasn’t exactly shouting from rooftops, their planning was extensive and secretive. It began almost two years ago. And reports say, the tunnels in Gaza helped them. These tunnels run across the Strip. They also have phone lines inside. We’re talking about the old-school ones, the landlines. Hamas terrorists used these land lines to communicate. No mobile phones. No computers. The report says there was a small cell of terrorists that stayed underground and used these phones. And when the time was right, the cell was activated. This report has not been officially confirmed. But it does add up. Israel constantly tracks Hamas leaders on their devices, so planning this over phone calls would have been impossible, which is why Hamas used old-school methods, like landlines and meeting in person. Maybe that’s why Israel was blindsided. But one thing keeps appearing in all such reports, whether it’s about the planning, the communications, or the hideouts, and that’s the Gaza tunnels.

Just how big a network is this? Watch this assessment by the Israeli army:

Listen in as an IDF Spokesperson @jconricus provides a situational update on all fronts, as the war against Hamas continues. https://t.co/jSkwACh3iN

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 12, 2023

Hamas says there are 1,300 tunnels below Gaza; the network is said to be 500 kilometres long. Some of them are up to 70 metres deep, and their width is around two metres. Now, to give you some context, the entire Gaza Strip is around 41 kilometres long. So Hamas’s claim may not be right, but nonetheless, it’s a major asset for them. The first tunnels were constructed during Israel’s occupation of Gaza. A classic resistance strategy. More tunnels were built after Hamas took over. Their primary aim was smuggling, back then, Gaza was under a full blockade. Even the Egyptian border wasn’t open. So Hamas used these tunnels to smuggle goods. Many of these lead from Gaza to Israel. One such tunnel was discovered in 2013, it was 1.6 kilometres long, 18 metres deep, residents at an Israeli border town complained of noises. That’s when the tunnel was discovered. During wars, these tunnels are major threats. You can booby trap tunnels, and you can also use them for ambushes, so the IDF has repeatedly tried to target them. In the 2021 war, they had some success, the IDF said it destroyed 100 kilometres of tunnels. Even this time, in this war, tunnels are a target, reports say, Israel is thinking about flooding them. You flood the tunnels, you flush out Hamas terrorists. But there is a downside here. Hamas is holding hostages in these same tunnels. Two of them were released this week. This is how they described it: “It looked like spider web, many many tunnels,” said 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz, who was taken hostage by Palestinian gunmen on 7 October and released overnight. “We started walking in the tunnels where the earth was moist, and it was always humid. We reached a hall where we gathered, some 25 people,” he added. So the tunnels are extensive. And if Israel invades, that could be a problem, Hamas is said to have different types of tunnels below Gaza. One for smuggling, one for defensive operations like communicating and storing weapons, and one for offensive operations. That last one can be used to launch attacks. So how can Israel tackle this? Historically, tunnel warfare has been impossible. You can’t send in soldiers. It’s like walking into an obvious trap. You also cannot use bunker-buster bombs because above these tunnels are civilians, so if you bomb the tunnels, you bomb the civilians. Plus, Israel doesn’t know where the tunnels are. They have mapped some parts of it, but the whole thing is hundreds of kilometres long, it is impossible to trace all of it. And Hamas will be counting on that. They have no chance against Israel on the battlefield. The IDF is better funded, better trained, and better organised. But down in the tunnels, it is a different game. One, that will be played on Hamas’s terms. In the past many groups have used this strategy, and with success! Like the Viet Cong in northern Vietnam, they built a massive network of tunnels which kept the Americans out. Can Hamas pull off something similar? That is another concern for the Israeli leadership. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.