Posted on 07/25/2014 4:37:52 AM PDT by blam
Tia Goldenberg, Associated Press
July 25, 2014
A network of tunnels Palestinian militants have dug from Gaza to Israel dubbed "lower Gaza" by the Israeli military is taking center stage in the latest war between Hamas and Israel.
Gaza's Hamas rulers view them as a military game changer in its conflict with Israel. The Israeli military says the tunnels pose a serious threat and that destroying the sophisticated underground network is a key objective of its invasion of Gaza.
Israel has known about the tunnels for several years, but has been hard-pressed to find an effective way to block them. Now it is counting on its ground war to at least reduce the threat.
"Israel knew there was a problem with the tunnels, but it didn't internalize their significance," said Shlomo Brom, a retired Israeli general. "At any given moment, Hamas could send dozens of militants through separate tunnels to attack communities in Israel."
Gaza has two sets of tunnels those reaching Egypt and those reaching Israel.
The underground passages to Egypt are meant to bypass a border blockade on Gaza that was tightened by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized the territory in 2007. The tunnels provide an economic lifeline and are used to deliver building supplies, fuel, consumer goods and even cattle and cars.
In some of those tunnels, Gaza militants received weapons and cash from their patrons abroad, particularly Iran. Egypt has destroyed virtually all of the tunnels over the past year, driving Hamas which was taxing the smuggled imports into a severe financial crisis.
Separately, Hamas significantly expanded its network of tunnels from Gaza to Israel after a major Israeli ground offensive that ended in January 2009.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
"Building supplies???"
I guess the explosives are used for demolition...
——those reaching Egypt -——
I thought Israel drove a line of sheet piling along the Egyptian leg effectively thwarting the passages from Egypt
And widdle iddums Hamas would never use them to transport weapons.
everytime the find one they should pump it full of gasoline vapor and then light a match.
Where did they get the money to build those things.
Oh. Right. Humanitarian aid.
Fill ‘em with bacon grease and pig fat.
Kind of a bummer we can’t get Hamas to do the same in the US. Ever try commuting between NJ and NY? Giant logjam under the Hudson River due to lack of tunnels.
They could have built housing for their people. This proves they are NOT interested in civilized society.
Attack of the Mole People.
Underground sensors? Geological mapping like oil exploration, ‘earthquake’ bombs.
And another thing. The dirt is being removed, it has to be carted off. Look for dump truck, carts, etc leaving buildings .
Seems to me our border cameras, lookouts could spot that going on across the fence in AZ ans CA.
Oh, establish a 5 mile buffer zone on the Gaza/Israel border. No buildings of any kind.
How is that going to destroy a concrete tunnel?
Very expensive solution and (relatively) easy to dig under.
I heard somewhere else that some of these tunnels were 60 feet deep... which would make that technique difficult.
MOAB the bass-turds!
In part, U.S. funding but read about the Hamas Billionaires with million dollar homes in GAZA! Hamas is preventing the people living above their tunnels from leaving and 15 died today.
Hamas did not build tunnels under their million dollar homes. I say blow them up, or give them to the Palestinians.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3184554/posts
Odd. Surely Israel is aware of these homes?
I’m more concerned with destroying what’s in the tunnel first. They can blow it up later.
The article writes of booby traps or bombs that are set off from a remote distance. I’m not sure a gas fire explosion would take that out.
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