Before the eight-week war in the Gaza Strip, Hamas said it had hundreds of kilometers of tunnels — a network the size of the New York subway system — to protect itself and serve as a base of operations.
An Israeli soldier walks through a tunnel beneath Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, on November 22, 2023. Photo: Reuters
That makes them prime targets for Israeli airstrikes. Israeli military engineers have used robots to map and place explosive gel in the passageways.
“The tunnels are located in civilian areas, many of them located near or inside civilian buildings and structures such as schools, kindergartens, mosques and playgrounds,” the Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday.
Of the approximately 800 tunnels discovered, the Israeli military said, 500 had been destroyed using various methods, including “detonation and sealing.” It added that several sections of the main tunnel route had also been destroyed.
The number of civilian deaths in the war is increasingly worrying world powers. The US renewed its call for Israel to exercise caution to avoid civilian casualties on Saturday.
Mai Anh ( according to Reuters)
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