- Hamas has built an elaborate network of tunnels underneath Gaza, which serve a number of different purposes. We take a brief look at their salience in the current conflict
An Israeli ground invasion of Gaza will have to reckon with what lies underground: a labyrinth of tunnels, controlled and operated by Hamas, will be a key battlefield.
The network of approximately 1,300 tunnels is thought to be around 500 km in length, with the deepest lying 70 m underground, DW reported. Most are about 2 m in width and height.
According to John Spencer of the US Military Academy West Point, the sheer scale of the tunnel system underneath Gaza poses a “wicked problem” for which “no perfect solution exists”, and overcoming which, “will require a lot of time.”
We look at when and why these tunnels came into existence, what they are used for, and why they pose such a challenge to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
A lifeline for a besieged people
The earliest tunnels underneath Gaza were probably dug as far back as the 1980s. But their scale and sophistication went up after Israel tightened its blockade of Gaza in 2007.
For besieged Gazans, tunnels are a lifeline which provides them all kinds of essential items, from food and medicine, to hygiene products and electronics. Many lie on Gaza’s border with Egypt, from where goods are smuggled into the enclave through the city of Rafah in the Sinai peninsula.
Prior to 2013, when Egypt cracked down on cross-border smuggling, the 12 km long Egypt-Gaza border had as many as 2,500 tunnels and moved as much as 500 tons of steel and 3,000 tons of cement daily.
For Hamas, which has poured millions of dollars into the construction and upkeep of these tunnels, they are of “existential” importance for Gazans — keeping the enclave’s battered economy afloat.
‘A great equaliser’
These tunnels are also of existential importance to Hamas, smuggling weaponry and military equipment into Gaza as well. Moreover, beyond tunnels used for smuggling in the southern border, Hamas has also built ones explicitly for military purposes.
Underneath Gaza, there are series of ‘defensive tunnels’, used as military command centres and for weapons storage. According to western military experts, these are the tunnels through which Hamas orchestrates its military operations against Israel, as well as where it is likely hiding hostages.
Attached to these, are ‘offensive tunnels’ on the border with Israel, used for cross-border attacks and other operations. It was these tunnels that were Israel’s casus belli during the 2014 escalation.
“The tunnels allow fighters to move between a series of fighting positions safely and freely,” Spencer, an expert in urban warfare, explained. “In short, the tunnels are a great equaliser, neutralising Israel’s advantages in weaponry, tactics, technology and organisation.”
Tackling the tunnels
Given how important tunnels are for Hamas, they will be a top priority for the IDF during a ground invasion. But eliminating them altogether will not be easy.
First and foremost is the problem of locating these tunnels, which experts say is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Even with the availability of modern surveillance technology including radar, thermal imaging, and magnetic signatures, most tunnels are found by human detective work. This is why it is impossible to accurately say just how big the tunnel system underneath Gaza is.
Second, even upon establishing their location, eliminating them is not a simple task. Sending in soldiers is fraught with risk as tunnels can easily be booby trapped. Fighting inside tunnels will also most certainly favour Hamas militants, with detailed knowledge of the terrain.
Bunker-buster bombs, which can penetrate deep underground before exploding, risk extensive collateral damage, given how densely Gaza is populated. Although chemical agents have been used in the past, notably by the US in Vietnam, these would be regarded as “illegal” in the eyes of International Humanitarian Law.
The IDF is highly trained for tunnel warfare, more than any other military force in the world according to Spencer. But the “depth and scale” of Gazan tunnels will take a long time to neutralise, and come at unthinkable human cost.
Moreover, as Daphne Richemond-Barak, author of Underground Warfare (2017), noted in an article in Financial Times, even with Israel’ concerted efforts “it is unlikely that the entirety of Gaza’s tunnel network would be destroyed.”
© The Indian Express, 25-10-2023