Underground tunnels in Gaza pose a huge challenge to Israeli army

Tel Aviv: Following its incessant airstrikes, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is planning a major ground offensive in the Gaza Strip

However, the area’s underground tunnels gives headache to one of the world’s most sophisticated forces.

Just as the released hostage, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz said, the underground tunnel network is being considered as a major source of support for the Hamas militant group to hide and spring surprises on the advancing IDF troupes.

An assessment by the IDF says Hamas has a tunnel network of 1,300 tunnels spread across 500 km distance.

The military knows that one of the world’s largest network of underground tunnels could be the biggest challenge for the forces.

Experts believe that the hostages Hamas has taken are being housed in these tunnels which, according to studies, are only 2 metres wide and 2 metres high.

An Israeli military intelligence report states that these tunnels were constructed initially for smuggling goods from Egypt.

As the surveillance increased, especially aerial surveillance, Hamas began using these tunnels to hide its operatives, top leaders as well as to store weapons and food items.

The IDF however has 'bunker buster bombs’ that can destroy these underground tunnels.

However, the human density in the Gaza Strip makes it difficult to use these without affecting civilian population.

The Israeli military, according to experts, is well trained in underground warfare and is one of the most capable forces in the world in this mode of war.

The IDF has been using special units for this wardare since 2014 trained in simulated tunnels and also learned to use sensors that are specific to understand the structure of the tunnels.

The army has also robots that can be deployed inside the tunnels to sense human presence and to act accordingly.

IANS with superficial edits