{"id":280250,"date":"2024-01-17T09:30:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T09:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=280250"},"modified":"2024-01-19T08:29:59","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T08:29:59","slug":"gaza-tunnels-stretch-at-least-350-miles-far-longer-than-past-estimate-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=280250","title":{"rendered":"Gaza tunnels stretch at least 350 miles, far longer than past estimate \u2013 report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Times of Israel \u2013 Jan 16, 2024<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Senior Israeli defense officials now assess that Hamas\u2019s Gaza tunnel network is between 350 and 450 miles long, far longer than previously believed, according to a Tuesday report.<\/p>\n

The estimate reported <\/a>by The New York Times is markedly higher than an Israel Defense Forces\u2019 assessment last month that there are some 250 miles of Hamas tunnels under the Gaza Strip, and an astounding figure given the enclave is only some 140 square miles in total size.<\/p>\n

The newspaper quoted Israeli intelligence officials estimating there are around 100 miles of tunnels under Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where IDF troops are engaged in intensive fighting as they search for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other terror commanders believed to be hiding underground.<\/p>\n

Two Israeli defense officials who spoke anonymously said there were roughly 5,700 separate shafts leading down to the tunnels.<\/p>\n

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Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The report stressed that the estimates could not be independently confirmed and noted there are different assessments among Israeli officials on the extent of the subterranean passages.<\/p>\n

Since launching a ground offensive following in the wake of the October 7 massacres, in which Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took around 240 hostages, Israeli forces have worked to destroy the tunnels, uncovering more and more of the Gaza-ruling terror organization\u2019s underground network. A defense official told the Times that this task has grown easier as the ground offensive pushes deeper in the Strip.<\/p>\n

The official said the IDF previously may have needed a year to detect a single tunnel, but is now able to do so much quicker as a result of the vast reams of intelligence gathered in Gaza during the ground campaign, finding details on the computers of Hamas operatives involved in the digging and discovering a list of families that \u201chosted\u201d tunnel shafts in their homes, among other information.<\/p>\n

The official said the IDF has also figured out about the \u201ctriangle\u201d system, with troops likely to find tunnels below an area with a school, hospital or mosque.<\/p>\n

The official cautioned that it could take years to dismantle the tunnels, noting that underground passages must be mapped and checked for booby traps and hostages before Israeli forces can destroy them.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the report highlighted the different types of tunnels<\/a> that Israeli forces have come across in Gaza, such as those used for fighting or manufacturing weapons. There are also differences in quality, with the more sophisticated tunnels slated for senior figures and rudimentary ones for fighters.<\/p>\n

Last week, the IDF said Hamas has used more than 6,000 tons of concrete and 1,800 tons of steel for its extensive tunnel network, citing new intelligence. It also said Hamas likely invested tens of millions of dollars in the project.<\/p>\n

Several hostages freed in a ceasefire deal in late November described being held inside tunnels, which Hamas has laid throughout the Gaza Strip and which Israel says have long been used to smuggle weapons and fighters throughout the enclave.<\/p>\n

It is believed that 132 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza \u2014 not all of them alive \u2014 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 confirmed the deaths of 25 of those still held by Hamas, citing intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IDF officials tell reporters that Hamas\u2019 tunnels were more extensive than previously believed and that it will take years to successfully search and destroy them<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":279704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-280250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7-10-gaza-war"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=280250"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280254,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280250\/revisions\/280254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/279704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=280250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=280250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=280250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}