Posted on 01/30/2024 7:13:19 PM PST by Uncle Miltie
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that it had been flooding some tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater, confirming what had been an open secret for several weeks.
Several IDF units and officials at the Defense Ministry jointly developed “several tools for injecting high-flow water into Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement, adding that it is “part of the variety of tools the IDF has for dealing with tunnels.”
The IDF clarified that not all tunnels were being flooded, as the process, which includes attaching pipes and pumps to the shafts, was not suited to all the tunnels and could severely damage some areas.
Before it floods tunnels, the IDF carries out “professional and comprehensive” preemptive checks, including an analysis of the soil and water system in the area, to ensure groundwater is not contaminated, the army added.
Other methods for destroying Hamas’s tunnels include aerial attacks, underground maneuvers and special operations.
A trial run of the flooding method was successful in mid-December as the IDF warned of “new combat methods” to deal with terrorists hiding underground.
Israeli soldiers operate at the entrance to a tunnel in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip in an undated photo released by the military on January 30, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
At the time, IDF Spokesman Real Adm. Daniel Hagari was asked about concerns that flooding tunnels may harm hostages being held by Hamas in the tunnels. He responded by saying that the army was operating based on intelligence on the location of hostages and would not take any deliberate steps that may harm them.
Earlier this month, senior Israeli defense officials estimated to The New York Times that Hamas’s tunnel network runs 350-400 miles long, much more than previously believed. The tunnels are believed to be accessed by some 5,700 shafts.
The IDF said Hamas had used more than 6,000 tons of concrete and 1,800 tons of steel and likely invested tens of millions of dollars into the project.
Since launching a ground offensive in the wake of the October 7 massacres, in which Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 253 hostages, Israeli forces have worked to destroy the tunnels, uncovering more and more of the Gaza-ruling terror organization’s underground network.
An official told the Times that IDF troops were more likely to find tunnels running below areas with schools, hospitals or mosques, and that it could potentially take years to dismantle the network.
IDF 646th Brigade commander Col. Elad Shushan (R) inspects a Hamas tunnel in the central Gaza Strip, January 14, 2024 (Lazar Berman/The Times of Israel)
A Wall Street Journal report on Sunday said that up to 80 percent of the tunnels were still intact after close to four months of fighting.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other terror commanders are thought to be hiding underground, according to Israeli officials who said that the Gaza terror chief is believed to be in a command center in a tunnel under Khan Younis, along with some of the hostages.
It is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during the late November truce. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military.
The IDF has also confirmed the deaths of 25 of those still held by Hamas, citing intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
In 2014, Egypt did the same thing to the Hamas tunnels at the Gaza southern border. I do not remember any international outrage.
“IDF confirms flooding Hamas tunnels in Gaza with seawater”
well, it worked on Triffids!
Cue The Raines of Castamere
“Do this; you’ll save water: let it rain for 40 days and 40 nights, and wait for the sewers to back up.”
Makes sense. I would suspect that the Hamas terrorists are on their own. So the IDF won't be able to catch them. If they use electronic communications, it'll be easy for the IDF to find them.
But since they're in the dark, there's no way to confirm the location of all the hostages. And they're probably on the run in the tunnels.
🤣🤣🤣
CC
Yeah, but you’re not going to be able to get any evidence afterwards.
Additionally, there is video of Hamas tunnels containing goosenecks and similar gas traps. However, none of it looks to be particularly proof against multiple kilotons of water.... and if it is, the water just traps the occupants inside on an ongoing basis in a way that a fuel air explosion wouldn’t. Plus you don’t accidentally blow up any of your troops conducting operations that didn’t get the word.
What did sharks ever do to you that you think they deserve having Palestinians inflicted on them?
Bingo. It will expose everywhere that had tunnel entrances built in... including, I expect, several UN and relief agency buildings. And the evidence won’t have vanished in a cloud of fire.
I have that entire performance on vinyl.
CLASSIC comedic GOLD.
To be fair, a number of complimentary rubber ducks were released at the start.🌊
Egypt flooded ham ass tunnels with ... sewage!
I’m guessing that there are no surviving hostages to worry about. Fills all the tunnels.
“It is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive...”
I’ve read previously where even when Israel knows the people are deceased they are still considered hostages. The Jews place a high priority on their dead, and how they should be handled, buried, etc.
Yes, the long term solution is to totally destroy Hamas and all its supporters to the point no one will ever consider using those tunnels for evil purposes.
Bkmk
Flood all the tunnels in Gaza with seawater.
Poisoning the ground water with seawater is a feature, not a bug.
My first thought was similar. So what if a few buildings collapse - it would probably bury some terrorists or some of their supporters. B-F-D.
Israel should be bull-dozing everything they capture with the intent to annex Gaza and turn it into a vacay spot.
Both the number of miles and the amount of materials used are very low.
At least one tunnel, wide enough to drive a vehicle through, made with blast doors, is entirely built with steel. This tunnel was built by Sinwar’s brother.
This main tunnel runs from a greenhouse area north of the Hamas border in Israel to another greenhouse area south of Khan Younis in Gaza. It has many many branching tunnels which either got to weapons (rocket & fuel) manufacturing rooms, to weapons storage, to food storage, to buildings, to housing quarters.
Those that may be alive, male, female, children have all been raped daily and repeatedly. They are Hamas sex toys. And as one longtime Hamas negotiator let slip on TV, most are dead.
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