Posted on 12/18/2023 7:20:23 AM PST by Red Badger
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military said Sunday it has discovered a large tunnel shaft in Gaza close to what was once a busy crossing into Israel, raising new questions about how Israeli surveillance missed such conspicuous preparations by Hamas for the militants’ deadly Oct. 7 assault.
The entryway to the tunnel is just a few hundred yards from the heavily fortified Erez crossing and a nearby Israeli military base.
The military said it stretches for over 2.5 miles, links up with a sprawling tunnel network across Gaza and is wide enough for cars to pass through. The army said Sunday that the tunnel facilitated the transit of vehicles, militants, and supplies in preparation for the Oct. 7 attack.
That day, militants used a rocket-propelled grenade to break past the portion of wall close to the Erez crossing and stormed the base, killing at least three soldiers and kidnapping some back to Gaza, the army said. It was one of several places along the border wall where militants easily blew past Israel’s security defenses, entered Israeli territory and killed some 1,200 people and took about 240 others hostage.
The unprecedented attack triggered a devastating war that has raged for over 10 weeks and claimed over 18,000 lives in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel says destruction of Hamas’ tunnel network is a major objective and that much of the underground network runs beneath schools, hospitals and residential areas.
Israel’s military, intelligence and political officials have come under heavy criticism for failing to detect the attack ahead of time.
Maj. Nir Dinar, a military spokesperson, said that Israeli security services did not know about the tunnel before Oct. 7 because Israel’s border defenses only detected tunnels meant to enter Israel.
“As far as I know, this tunnel doesn’t cross from Gaza into Israel and stops within 400 meters from the border, which means the indicators won’t indicate that a tunnel is being built,” Dinar said. He added that the entrance, a circular cement opening leading to a cavernous passageway, was located under a garage, hiding it from Israeli drones and satellite images.
While the military was aware that Hamas had an extensive tunnel network, Dinar said they did not think the militants would be able to carry out their plans for a large-scale attack.
“It’s no surprise that this was the Hamas strategy all along,” Dinar said. “The surprise is that they have succeeded and the size of this tunnel … was really shocking.”
The Erez crossing, a fortress-like facility that processed the movement of Palestinians into Israel for work, medical care and transit to neighboring Jordan, held great symbolic value for Hamas. The massive crossing was protected by security cameras and military patrols and the adjacent military base. The crossing suffered heavy damage on Oct. 7 and has not reopened.
The army said its special “Yahalom” unit, which specializes in tunnel warfare, has worked to excavate the tunnel since it was first detected. They say they’ve found weapons inside.
“At this point, this is the biggest tunnel in Gaza,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, told reporters in a tour of the tunnel’s entrance on Friday.
It is unclear if the tunnel was used on Oct. 7.
The army also showed reporters soldiers’ barracks at the nearby base that it said were set ablaze by the militants. They looked like the ashes of a furnace, with blackened walls and smelted bunks. The military announced Friday that it had recovered in Gaza the bodies of two soldiers who were working at the base on Oct. 7.
Dinar, who visited the tunnel Friday, said it was twice the height and three times the width of other tunnels found in Gaza. He said it is equipped with ventilation and electricity and dives 55 yards underground in some points. He said it was clear that millions of dollars as well as a great deal of fuel and workforce had been needed to build and sustain the tunnel.
Hagari said the military planned to destroy the tunnel and continue to “hunt” militants hiding in others.
“We will hunt them even if we need to go down to the tunnels,” Hagari said. “We also need to do it with attention to the rescue of our hostages and the understanding that maybe some of them are in the tunnels.”
Military intelligence is much an art as a science. Technology can only provide so much information, it usually requires humans on the ground to sniff out stuff the enemy is trying to keep secret.
Can you imagine anyone in Gaza willing to spy for Israel? Can you imagine an Israeli sneaking about in Gaza?
The biggest failure (as I see it from all the way around the world) is allowing civilians to be so close to the border.
I would like to believe Israel has learn from this experience.
They need to be shooting seismic lines and using ground penetrating radar to reveal the whole system!
Politico copied this from:
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
12/17/2023 02:37 PM EST
More propaganda from AP-—
“””The unprecedented attack triggered a devastating war that has raged for over 10 weeks and claimed over 18,000 lives in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials. “””
Of course, Hamas is a reliable source of info regarding deaths in Gaza.
Nobody missed anything. This was well known in advance. They let this all take place.
The USA funded this conflict, both sides of it.
You're probably right, they knew about the tunnels. But given the anti-Israel press coverage that we have today, imagine the press coverage if Israel had gone in before O-7. They probably felt like they had to wait for an incident.
in order to be able to obliterate your enemy, you first have to let them beat you a little...
Mossad/Intelligence must have a new meaning for complacent, the US does the same thing.
Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Axel Springer, a German publishing and media firm acquired Politico for over $1 billion in October 2021. The new owners plan to add staff and put the publication's news content behind a paywall. Döpfner's global ambitions include becoming the leading digital publisher in democracies around the world. He was drawn to Politico's profitable subscription service Politico Pro, which covers in-depth political and regulatory machinations for a specialty audience of inside-the-Beltway and business readers. Döpfner's previous overtures to buy the company had been rebuffed, but he agreed to sell after learning that Axel Springer was also courting Axios, a Politico rival started by Politico defectors. Döpfner believes that journalism has a bright future if we get some things right.
I looked, because they seem to be on the side of Israel, which is odd for what I consider to be a liberal outlet of fake news, more often than not.
Military Intelligence has always been a predator/prey situation.
As one side gets more advanced, the other side must get more advanced, but one side will always be behind the other until they catch up, then the cycle starts over again.............
Once this war is over Bibi needs to fire all the senior leadership of his intelligence services.
All of them.
L
The Buck Stops Here.
He will lose a lot of dough..................
You said it best!
People particularly on this site think it’s like TV or the movies with the James Bonds or the Jethro Gibbs’ all seducing women with plenty of explosions, gunfire & daring do! Where is all wrapped up in an hour to a satisfying conclusion! It’s not, nothing like that, not even close!!! It’s mostly painstakingly boring, trying to make sense of “disparate facts” of dubious quality. Putting together a narrative that’s full of holes but still logical. It’s full of holes because you don’t have enough “facts” questionable or otherwise and you never will. You never gain mathematical certainty! In the final analysis its educated guessing! You live with that and accept the fact that you can be very wrong!
Can you offer proof for that statement?
Qatar bankrolled Hamas before October 7th and Netanyahu allowed it that’s for sure.
It was done to maintain peace just like the CIA figured Al Qaeda followers could be used to overthrow Assad in Syria.
But it blew up in Israel’s face.
Before the attack came down some warned in the Israeli intelligence-military community others ignored warnings.
Who knows maybe folks on the morning of October 7th watched porn videos more than the border surveillance cameras and missed the assault.
Not when Benjamin “Machiavelli” Netanyahu is involved he’s one of the slickest politicians in the world today still fighting to deflect with much lower popularity at this point.
He denied sending money to Hamas before October 7th this weekend loudly of course the accusation against him never involved direct payment to Hamas.
What his critics including Conservative ones like former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former Finance-Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman have said over the years is that Netanyahu allowed Qatar to deliver the cash to Hamas in Gaza.
It is common knowledge that the USA awarded Iran with $16 Billion in lifted sanctions and prior to this attack and that we funded Hamas and the PA directly with more than $1 billion.
Palestinian group accused of harboring terrorists received $1B from Biden admin: report
Report reveals 100 pages of evidence that UNRWA schools taught hate toward Jewish people, glorified terrorism
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/palestinian-group-accused-harboring-terrorists-received-1b-biden-admin
Biden administration to restore $235m in US aid to Palestinians
7th April 2021, 03:36 EDT
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56665199
Biden restores $200m in US aid to Palestinians slashed by Trump
This article is more than 2 years old
Former US president had gradually cut virtually all US money to Palestinian aid projects
https://theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/08/joe-biden-restores-us-aid-palestinians-donald-trump
Biden and Iran Sanctions
by Mitchell Bard
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/biden-and-iran-sanctions#:~:text=In%20what%20was%20viewed%20as,products%20on%20June%2010%2C%202021.
Biden lifts sanctions on two Iranian missile producers
BY LAURA KELLY 10/08/21 12:21 PM ET
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/575948-biden-lifts-sanctions-on-two-iranian-missile-producers/
Power Up: Biden administration approves $735 million weapons sale to Israel, raising red flags for some House Democrats
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/17/power-up-biden-administration-approves-735-million-weapons-sale-israel-raising-red-flags-some-house-democrats/
Biden signs $1.7 trillion spending bill, including $3.8 billion for Israel, into law
https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-signs-1-7-trillion-spending-bill-including-3-8-billion-for-israel-into-law/amp/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.