The Israeli military announced today that it has discovered hundreds of above-ground tunnel entrances and more than 300 underground tunnels in the Khan Yunis area of the southern Gaza Strip, and will continue to search and destroy the tunnel network.
“Terrorists were also killed” during the operations, the Israeli armed forces said on their Telegram channel.
Israeli hostages were held in a tunnel under Khan Yunis, which appears to have been expensive to build, according to the Israeli military.
“Millions of shekels are estimated to have been invested in digging the tunnel and equipping it with ventilation, electrical and plumbing systems,” added the same source.
An entire network of tunnels stretches for many kilometers under the Gaza Strip. To withstand Israeli bombs, some of them are tens of meters deep. Terrorists also use the tunnels to appear out of nowhere and attack soldiers, the Israeli military said.
Brigadier General Dan Goldfuss said yesterday, Wednesday, that the army has now adjusted its strategy, according to the Times of Israel.
Initially only tunnel entrances were detected and destroyed, but now soldiers enter them. “There we will defeat the core of Hamas,” said the Israeli brigadier general.
The leadership of the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas, led by Yahya al-Shinwar, is believed to be inside the network of tunnels in the Khan Younis area.
Israeli media recently reported that Israel knows where al-Sinwar is hiding, but has refrained from attacking because the Hamas leader in Gaza is surrounded by Israeli hostages, whom he is using as human shields.
The German Agency notes that this information could not be confirmed by an independent source and that a military representative did not want to comment on it.
Source: protothema.gr
