Hamas restores tunnels Israel said were gone

Israeli military officials expressed concern over Hamas fighters rebuilding and repairing war tunnels in areas where occupation forces are active.

Channel 12 of Israeli television reported that, contrary to the army’s previous assertions of having fully destroyed the tunnels, resistance fighters continue to launch attacks on occupation forces from locations that had previously been declared demolished.

Israeli military officials have admitted that resistance fighters have carried out more than ten attacks so far using tunnels that the occupation army had previously claimed to have “targeted.” A senior Israeli officer also confirmed that Hamas fighters have rebuilt and repaired between 15 and 20 percent of their war tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

Last week, CNN, citing an Israeli military official, reported that Hamas’s tunnel network is not just a series of similar passages, but rather a structure far more complex than the Israeli army had anticipated. It includes large strategic centers and smaller tactical tunnels, which are used for rapid movement and surprise attacks.

According to the same official quoted by the American network, Israeli forces have been unable to penetrate the depths of Gaza City in the northern Strip after nearly two years of war. The official also could not provide an estimate of the current number of Hamas fighters inside Gaza City.

Earlier, the Israeli daily Maariv, noting the vastness of the Palestinian resistance tunnels in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli army’s failure to destroy them, wrote: “The operation to eliminate Hamas tunnels is like trying to empty the sea with a small spoon; in northern Gaza, wherever you step, you will find the entrance to a tunnel.”