/ world today news/ After the Palestinian movement Hamas conducted the “Al-Aqsa Storm” operation and the Israeli reaction, military experts in various countries began to talk about such a phenomenon as tunnel warfare. Renowned military strategist Edward Lutwak published the article “Battle of the Tunnels Begins in Gaza” on October 25, 2023.
In it he pointed out that in Palestine “underground networks have various uses: from training with weapons hidden by balloons or synthetic aperture radar (which produces photo-like images at any degree of visibility) to makeshift headquarters and even recreational areas protected from airstrikes. Built from cement and rebar donated by the European Union, Qatar and Islamic and Western charities “to build housing for refugees”, the network of tunnels has grown exponentially over the past decade. “Israeli military analysts even call it ‘The Underground’, referring to the labyrinthine network of the London Underground.
It was no secret to Israel that these underground communications would be used to wage war against them. But Lutwak warns that if Israel focuses its efforts on destroying the tunnels in Gaza, it will find itself virtually powerless. Because tunnel warfare requires very specific detection and surveillance skills, equipment, close combat weapons (even compact assault rifles are too long), the use of specialized shields and respirators, and very fast reaction times.
Experts say there are several types of tunnels in the region. Along the northern border with Lebanon, Hezbollah is using diamond-tipped drills to cut passages into the rock. On the southern border, tunnels from Gaza to Egypt have long been used to smuggle goods, while tunnels to Israel have been used to attack Israeli villages and, in 2006, kidnap Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Hamas leader Yehia Sinwar recently said they have 500 kilometers of tunnels dug under the Gaza Strip, covering an area of about 360 square kilometers, roughly twice the size of Washington, DC. Hamas survived IDF shelling, airstrikes and major ground incursions in 2009 and 2014. Therefore, through years of experience, they did everything to ensure that the command structure, manpower and ammunition depots used to striking Israel from hidden firing points, can survive Israeli invasions, artillery and airstrikes.
According to the IDF, the underground defensive-offensive structure of Hamas is well supplied with food and fuel. This would allow Hamas fighters to withstand a long siege. To make matters worse, tunnel entrances are often found in homes, various buildings, fields in the desert surrounding Gaza, and one was discovered in a laundromat. Finding them is like looking for a needle in a haystack. According to the IDF, the command and control center for the entire maze of tunnels is located under Gaza’s largest hospital, Al Shifa. Such statements from Israel are apparently made to justify attacks on temples, mosques and hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
It is noted that Israel is under no illusions about the dangers it faces in capturing the Hamas tunnels. He had previously fought an uphill battle in their depths during the 50-day ground invasion of Gaza launched in 2014 to destroy the tunnels to Israel (Operation Unbreakable Tooth).
During this campaign, Israeli troops entered the tunnels on the outskirts of Gaza and suffered casualties because they were unprepared for what awaited them. Israeli soldiers faced enormous technological challenges in locating, combating, and destroying Hamas’ hidden tunnels.
In response to Hamas’s efforts, Israel had previously created a special Corps of Engineers unit, informally known as Yahalom (Diamond). The tunnel warfare unit is called “Samur” which means “Weasel” in Hebrew and is also the initials of the words “Slikim” (“Secrets”) and “Minharot” (caves or tunnels).
On its website, the “front unit” of Yahalom describes its mission as follows: special sabotage missions, demolition and detonation of buildings, sabotage of enemy infrastructure, handling of explosives, preparation of explosive devices and bombs, neutralization of enemy explosive devices, clearing complex minefields, detecting and destroying terrorist tunnels. The part sometimes uses robots and various remote control devices.
A secret underground training center was set up to train this unit, which contained a mock-up of Hamas tunnels. They are trained to “discover, map and neutralize underground tunnels that threaten any country.” Israeli units practiced underground warfare in the artificial Palestinian city of Baladiya City, which is located in a military base located in the Negev desert.
To date, however, the IDF has not achieved much success in destroying the tunnels. Only the use of highly destructive anti-bunker bombs gives them hope. However, this comes at the cost of a large number of civilian casualties. During the month of fighting in Palestine, more than 10 thousand people died.
The mere raising of the question of the use of various underground passages and facilities as a means of waging war is not something new or extraordinary. In ancient times, tunnels and underground facilities were also used during wars.
For example, the Jews used them to attack Roman legions during their revolt of 66-70 AD. The Romans encountered similar tactics in the Balkans and in the forests of the Germanic tribes. Even earlier, the Persians built underground tunnels to undermine cities and were also used to drive off advancing soldiers with burning sulfur (a prototype of the gas attack).
During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the technique of digging tunnels and using gunpowder charges in European countries was greatly improved. Underground mining was also used in Asia until the wars of the twentieth century – the Chinese dug tunnels between village houses to attack the Japanese during the occupation. Later, the Japanese themselves began to create similar communication systems that were used against the US Marine Corps. The famous Maginot Line in France also has a system of underground tunnels and bunkers. In 1940 the Germans did not storm it, they simply surrounded it, in fact they took it without firing a single shot and France was forced to capitulate.
Vietnam, North Korea, Afghanistan – these are the places where the US military has already faced tunnel warfare. True, Soviet soldiers met them in Afghanistan before the Americans. But during the Cold War, both in the USSR and in the USA, underground bunker systems were actively created, designed to house command posts.
In addition to Israel, the United States also shows great interest in such actions.
The first manual that described the tactics and procedures for conducting underground combat was FM 90-10-1, “Infantry Manual for Conducting Combat in Populated Areas”, from 1993.
Prior to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mission of taking over large underground military complexes was assigned to Tier 1 Special Forces units, such as the Army’s Delta Force and SEALs, as well as the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment of the USA.
However, after the US identified North Korea, Russia, Iran and China as threats, the requirements changed.
At the end of 2017, the US military spent about $572 million to train and equip 26 of 31 active combat brigades to fight in large-scale underground installations that lie beneath densely populated urban areas around the world. At the same time, training circular TK 3-20.50 “Training of small units in underground conditions” was published.
In November 2019, the US military issued another doctrinal document on the subject of underground warfare. He points out that there are more than 10,000 tactical tunnels in the world and underground structures will be increasingly used in modern armed conflicts.
It was also said that to conduct this new type of warfare, infantry units would need to know how to effectively navigate, communicate, overcome heavy obstacles and attack enemy forces in underground labyrinths ranging from narrow corridors to tunnels as wide as on residential streets. Soldiers will need new equipment and training to operate in conditions such as complete darkness, poor air and lack of cover from enemy fire in areas where standard Army communications equipment does not work.
The United States also drew attention to the experience in Syria, where terrorists from the Islamic State and other anti-government groups used underground communications (including the creation of tunnels) to attack checkpoints, blow up buildings and other infrastructure in various cities.
But in addition to hypothetical threats in the United States, there are already hundreds of tunnels along the Mexican border that are used by drug cartels to smuggle drugs and illegal migrants across the border. In January 2011, the US government built a special tunnel in Yuma, Arizona to study this problem and develop measures to combat it. Various “anti-tunneling” technologies began to be developed there. Acoustic detectors, generators of electromagnetic waves, robots equipped with sensors and special anti-bunker bombs were used.
It is likely that Israel already received some support from its American counterparts when the first planes with equipment and ammunition arrived in October.
Of course, the possibility of armed conflicts with underground infrastructure is not only associated with Israel and the United States.
In 2015, Paul Springer, professor of comparative military history at the US Air Force Command and General Staff College, warned that “if irregular warfare remains the norm over the next few decades, as it has in many recent conflicts, tunnels will likely are playing an increasingly important role.” . The dominant powers, most notably the United States, have enormous information advantages provided by aerial surveillance. One way to offset some of the consequences of such informational dominance is simply to hide activities, especially illegal ones. Tunnels can create a defensive nightmare for attackers and negate many of the advantages technologically superior forces have. The process of clearing and destroying the tunnel network is expensive, time-consuming, and likely to result in far more casualties than a ground battle. The tunnels also serve a dual purpose in peacetime as they provide entry and smuggling routes. If the entrances and locations of the tunnels can be kept secret, their existence poses a serious security threat.”
Springer apparently had Iran in mind when he talked about compensation owed to US intelligence assets. And Iran has a huge underground infrastructure of bunkers that house missiles and drones.
The Russian army also faced tunnel warfare when it routed Ukrainian neo-Nazis from the Azov Battalion from the dungeons of the Azovstal plant. On the other hand, industrial infrastructure is still distinct from purpose-built military communications. Therefore, in the current confrontation with Hamas, Israel does not really have effective tools to destroy them. That is why Tzahal uses the scorched earth tactic, trying to achieve an intimidating effect.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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