According to The Wall Street Journal, after an intense 114-day conflict, up to 80 percent of the tunnel system belonging to Hamas terrorists beneath Gaza may still be operational. The report relies on information from Israeli and US officials, highlighting the challenge in accurately gauging the extent of destruction inflicted by Israeli forces on this subterranean network.
Israeli troops, responding to the October 7 attacks orchestrated by Hamas, initiated a ground offensive. Their primary focus has been on dismantling the intricate tunnel infrastructure that underpins the control of the Gaza-based terror organization.
Various methods have been employed in the effort to neutralize the tunnels, including bombing and flooding. However, progress remains deliberate due to the meticulous process of mapping out these subterranean passages and ensuring the absence of booby traps or hostages before initiating destruction.
The leadership of Hamas, including Yahya Sinwar and other commanders, is suspected to be sheltering underground. Israeli officials, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, suggest that Sinwar might be situated in a command center within a tunnel beneath Khan Younis, alongside some of the hostages taken during the conflict.
Recent assessments by senior Israeli defense officials indicate a substantial expansion of the Gaza tunnel network, now estimated to be between 350 and 450 miles long. This figure, reported by The New York Times, significantly surpasses the Israel Defense Forces’ previous estimate of approximately 250 miles of Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip. The vast length of the network is particularly surprising given the limited size of the enclave, covering only around 140 square miles.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Are they saying within these 3.5 months only 20% was destroyed? Are they expecting it to take 1.5 years like in Ukraine?
That would not be surprising. No one claimed that this would be quick and easy.
There are no million Hamas/Fatah members they’re after. Everything to do with destroying loads of DUMBS / deep deep tunnels like in the rest of the world where heinous crimes are committed by the “invisible enemy”, esp against children, is certainly not quick and easy.