In Gaza, at the site of a tunnel demolition

In Gaza, at the site of a tunnel demolition

The Times of Israel’s Avi Issacharoff takes us deep into the southern Gaza Strip, where another tunnel is uncovered today by the paratrooper brigade. He writes:

At 4:50 p.m., we get on the Achzarit APC, and begin crossing the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. After minutes of driving west, we reach one of Khan Younis’s most well-known suburbs, where this afternoon the paratrooper brigade uncovered another tunnel. The brigade commander, Col. Eliezer Toledano, tells us the assessment is that the tunnel is 2 kilometers long, and points to the house next door — riddled with bullet holes — and explains that the tunnel shaft emerged from the yard. In the background, constant explosions and gunfights happening hundreds of meters away, between Toledano’s troops and operatives, likely Hamas fighters, are heard without pause.

A peek into the tunnel entrance shows that in this case too, Hamas invested a significant amount of money in its construction. The walls are lined with concrete, and it gradually sinks into the ground. The house belongs to a Hamas man, and discovered on the site, many weapons — RPG launches, cartridges, and Hamas propaganda materials — link the homeowner to the organization.

The damage is evident from every angle — destroyed houses, collapsed walls, and the IDF’s bulldozers plow through the ground incessantly in attempts to reach other parts of the tunnel. One of the officers tells us “this is the sort of fighting we aren’t accustomed to, at every moment a terrorist could jump on us, as happened only a few days ago. Three terrorists emerged from a tunnel and almost managed to surprise us. The moment they saw us, they slipped back into the tunnel, and left through a different exit.”

Toledano seems relaxed and emphasizes that his soldiers will continue their mission. He says time and patience are needed to deal with the tunnels, “and we have both.”

– Avi Issacharoff