(RightWing.org) – Israeli troops have found a significant Hamas tunnel under Gaza. The underground route, more than half a mile long, let the terror group move weapons and people around the territory. The tunnel network has helped the group survive until now, but its protection is slowly being stripped away.
On July 1, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced it had found a tunnel running below the center of the Gaza Strip. The tunnel was a kilometer (1,100 yards) long and had been built to let Hamas quickly move gunmen and weapons between different defensive positions in the area. The main tunnel had multiple branches connecting terrorist sites — and it ran underneath the Netzarim Corridor, one of the few parts of Gaza that’s occupied by the IDF.
The tunnel was discovered in a recent operation by the Israeli Army’s 99th Infantry Division, a reserve formation that’s been working in central Gaza for several months. During the operation, the 99th killed around 100 Hamas terrorists and destroyed many “terrorist structures,” which included observation posts, rocket launch baseplates, and arms bunkers. However, the discovery of the tunnel could be the most significant result of the operation; Hamas operatives have likely been using it to move around, bypassing Israeli control of the ground above.
After the 99th discovered the tunnel, the division called in support from the Yahalom unit. This is a special forces unit of the IDF’s Combat Engineering Corps and specializes in unconventional engineering tasks. Between them, the units searched and cleared the tunnel network, then destroyed it.
While Hamas tunnels are heavily reinforced with concrete diverted from civilian construction projects, Yahalom has a lot of experience in destroying them. Meanwhile in southern Gaza, other IDF units found the largest Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket factory that’s ever been discovered. The Biden administration might be delaying military aid to Israel, but the IDF is still making gains against the Hamas enemy.
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