Name: Why the Underground Maze Beneath Gaza is Key to the Israel-Hamas War | WSJ
Uploaded: 2023-10-31T21:37:48.000Z
Duration: 5 min 44 s
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Adverbs of manner

- [Narrator] The Gaza Strip is a densely populated area

with more than 2 million residents stretching

But just underneath this sprawling landscape,

another layer exists, a vast labyrinth of tunnels.

The underground maze was largely built by Hamas.

The group designated by the US as a terrorist organization

As Israel prepares for a potential ground defensive

in the territory following a broad assault

the subterranean network could play a key role.

So here's why experts say these tunnels could make

urban combats costly for both Israeli soldiers

The underground network has existed for decades inside Gaza.

Previously it was largely used as a roots to smuggle goods

and weapons from Egypt into the narrowest strip of land

to become a key military asset for Hamas.

- I went in 2014 with the IDF into a Hamas built tunnel

and it was a pretty crazy experience in a sense.

I'm about six foot, and they were, you know,

I didn't have to bend down at all in them.

They were very well reinforced with concrete.

There was communications lines running down the side

of them, and then they also had like, almost like a sort

of little rails or like a sort of railway line running

- [Narrator] During Israel's seven week war on Gaza in 2014,

They were used to hide weapons, equipments and troops,

In the years since then, Hamas has continued

This map, based on a graphic shared by the IDF

represents networks of tunnels that Israel said it damaged.

- I think the expectation is that there is

- [Narrator] Former Israeli security officials say

of underground tunnels in the last year or more.

Israel readying for a possible ground invasion of Gaza

- I think that the Israeli, the strategy will be to try

to destroy as much of the tunnel network as possible

to destroy them could be challenging for Israeli forces.

One of the biggest issues is locating them.

which may in fact be deep underground is located

or a host of other aspects of the built up environment,

- [Narrator] Even if a tunnel is located,

additional factors including its depth can mean

precision bombs can struggle to destroy it.

- It depends not only on knowing precisely

but on having the explosive power to be able

to damage a tunnel network that's beneath

perhaps layers of concrete, possibly layers of metal,

whatever the built up environment entails inherently,

as well as whatever materials have gone into construction

relatively invulnerable in many cases to air attack.

- [Narrator] And let's say any Israeli operation

to destroy the Gaza tunnel system could be complicated

Hamas' armed wing said in the statements on Telegram

within the tunnel complex, which might kill everyone inside.

specifically tunneling forces who know how

and how to avoid triggering various booby traps.

- [Narrator] One 85-year-old hostage who was released