Israel: Army has destroyed around 400 tunnel shafts in Gaza
According to the Israeli army, it has destroyed around 400 tunnel shafts in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Gaza war on October 7. Many of the tunnels belonging to the Islamist Hamas were under civilian hospitals, schools and houses, the military announced on Wednesday.
According to Israeli information, there is a network of underground tunnels in the sandy soil of the Gaza Strip, which is around 45 kilometers long and around six to 14 kilometers wide and has a population of more than two million.
Some tunnels are large enough for vehicles
Some of the tunnels are concreted or supplied with electricity. On average, they are two meters high and one meter wide, but some are also large enough for vehicles. In order to withstand Israeli bombs from the air, some reach dozens of meters underground. Many entrances are said to be in residential buildings or mosques.
According to the Israeli army, it also uncovered a Hamas tunnel on the grounds of the largest clinic in the Gaza Strip, the Shifa Hospital. The uncovered shaft leads to a tunnel with a length of around 55 meters at a depth of 10 meters, it was reported at the weekend.
The Islamist Hamas seized power in the coastal area by force in 2007. It wants to destroy the state of Israel.
The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East have often involved the use of underground tunnels, with the Israeli army recently discovering a Hamas tunnel beneath the Shifa Hospital in Gaza, which is the largest clinic in the region. These tunnels, some of which are large enough for vehicles, have become a contested area, often situated near civilian structures like hospitals and schools in the Gaza Strip.
Source: www.dpa.com
