Posted on 11/01/2023 10:28:56 AM PDT by bitt
The biggest problem confronting Israel in its war on Hamas is how to destroy the Gaza tunnel networks and the terrorist operations therein. Bombing works—mostly—but there’s a better way. Not only would it dramatically reduce Israeli military and Gazan civilian casualties, but it would effectively destroy the tunnel systems for the long term. That solution is to flood the tunnels with seawater from the adjacent Mediterranean.
I worked on the Gaza Strip back in the 1990s. The U.S. government was pouring tens of millions of tax dollars into development assistance there on engineering infrastructure, housing, and related projects. Part of reviewing that work on the ground involved tramping over much of the small territory on foot.
Gaza consists of a strip of beach, back beach, and coastal plain that’s flat to slightly rolling. The territory stretches for about twenty-five miles along the eastern Mediterranean. At its widest, in the south, it’s about seven and a half miles wide; most of it is far narrower, about half of that.
The Gaza tunnel system, mostly constructed over the last forty years, provides Hamas with offensive access to Israel. It also constitutes the terrorist organization’s most formidable defensive redoubt. The tunnels present by far the most difficult logistical problem for Israel in eliminating enemy targets. Open-source maps show at least eleven independent tunnel networks, some nearly adjacent to the sea. The number of independent networks, however, could far exceed that. Hamas claims that the total length of the tunnels is about three hundred miles.
The geography of Gaza argues strongly for the stratagem of flooding the tunnels. It would force the enemy above ground where they can more easily be destroyed, dramatically reduce the Israeli casualties required to accomplish that task and resolve the problem of dealing with parts of the tunnels that are too deep to destroy through bombing. Most importantly, flooding is a permanent or near-permanent solution to the Gaza tunnel problem. Once accomplished, pumping them out enough to be usable again would be both extremely costly and—especially in conjunction with bombing—exceptionally difficult. The timing of executing a flooding strategy is flexible; some could be flooded now, others later, and still others once they’re discovered.
The engineering is straightforward. Egypt flooded thirty-seven cross-border tunnels in southern Gaza back in 2015 in what stands as a practical proof of concept in this location. Seawater from the Mediterranean would be pumped directly into the tunnel openings through short pipelines. While there’s little hydrological head, there is also little topographical relief to deal with in laying the pipe. Large volumes of water are pumped long distances every day, and Israeli water technology is world class.
more....
Pig sewage
very hungry ones at that!
eggs must be broken to create an omelet.
yup
Geneva Convention won’t allow it.
Starved Rock State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its 2,630 acres (1,064 ha). Located just southeast of the village of Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of the Illinois River, the park hosts over two million visitors annually, the most for any Illinois state park.[1][2]
A flood from a melting glacier, known as the Kankakee Torrent, which took place approximately 14,000–19,000 years ago led to the topography of the site and its exposed rock canyons. Diverse forest plant life exists in the park and the area supports several wild animal species. Of particular interest has been sport fishing species.
Before European contact, the area was home to Native Americans, particularly the Kaskaskia who lived in the Grand Village of the Illinois across the river. Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette were the first Europeans recorded as exploring the region, and by 1683, the French had established Fort St. Louis on the large sandstone butte overlooking the river, they called Le Rocher (the Rock). Later after the French had moved on, according to a local legend, a group of Native Americans of the Illinois Confederation (also called Illiniwek or Illini) pursued by the Ottawa and Potawatomi fled to the butte in the late 18th century. In the legend, around 1769 the Ottawa and Potawatomi besieged the butte until all of the Illiniwek had starved, and the butte became known as "Starved Rock".
So are farts - or we’d almost never smell them.
and blow up another ‘refugee’ ‘camp’ ?
look up Indianapolis coliseum explosion back in the ‘60’s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_Indiana_State_Fairgrounds_Coliseum_gas_explosion
Ottawa and Potawatomi
bttt
Israeli heads will roll when the folks who allowed SHOVELS to be sold in GAZA are identified!!!
Yup.
I’ve seen various similar versions of that drawing — some include more / various missile launching sites, some of those subterranean.
Questions:
Is the water table fresh water or salt water (nearby sea)?
Average elevation of the land?
Soil porosity? (Perhaps better described as soil / rock porosity vs. depth.)
Are the tunnels sealed? (Seems unlikely.)
I believe the elderly lady hostage released described tunnels as being damp / wet. Condensation?
Estimated total internal volume of the tunnel network / halls / rooms?
Filling the entire underground infrastructure could require quite a bit of water. How far uphill does it need to be pumped to deliver it?
If the tunnels are leaky and the soil(s) porous (likely), then considerably more water is needed, and keeping the tunnel network flooded requires a continuous or repeated supply. (Flooding with sewage requires less frequent repeats.)
If the tunnels are leaky and the soil(s) porous, is contamination of the water table a concern? Does that bring in Geneva Convention limitations? Would contamination leach over to wells in Israeli territory?
What is the long term prospect of Israel, instead of destroying the tunnels, occupying them, essentially turning the tables on Hamas? (There are some obvious difficulties with this, but could be overcome with some out-of-the-box approaches, I think.)
“Anything” can be done for enough money.” (An old engineer mentor of mine.)
Lather, rinse, and repeat, with victory developing from a continuing demographic war against the West.
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