The secret of Hamas' tunnel system in Gaza

The tunnels, dubbed the “Gaza Metro” by Israel, are vital to Hamas from both an offensive and defensive perspective. The group’s fighters use them to smuggle and store weapons and avoid detection – adding to the already difficult challenges of fighting in a dense urban environment.

The operation that Israel is planning to carry out also encountered a further obstacle when a Hamas spokesman confirmed that at least one group of hostages they kidnapped in the attack on October 7 were being held in tunnels.

Although the ground campaign has yet to begin, Israel has called up 300,000 reservists and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected a "long and difficult war".

Why Hamas uses tunnel systems?

Hamas uses tunnels to smuggle goods, store weapons and supplies, and train fighters in barracks out of sight of Israel's advanced intelligence agencies and out of reach of its air force.

Hamas also uses underground facilities to assemble and store components of its extensive arsenal of rockets and launchers.

In the event of a ground operation, the tunnels would expose Israeli soldiers to the risk of ambushes and traps in unfamiliar terrain.

Rulestissuetunnel network

On land, Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on earth, with 2 million people living in just 363 square kilometers.

Egypt and Israel imposed a broad blockade on the enclave after Hamas took control in 2007, making a network of underground transport and smuggling routes more important.

It is not yet known exactly how massive the tunnel system is, but experts say it has grown in size and complexity over the past two decades, with some now equipped with electricity, lighting and rails.

They can stretch across large areas of the Gaza Strip, reaching depths of more than 30 meters below ground in some places and ending in dozens of secret access points. Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, claimed in 2021 that the militant group had nearly 500 kilometers of tunnels in Gaza.

In the past, the militant group has also dug tunnels across the Israel-Gaza border to carry out attacks against Israeli forces, such as during the 2014 war.

Israel's tunnel-busting strategy

As the tunnels become more sophisticated and complex, so too does Israel's strategy to stop them.

In addition to conducting numerous ground and air operations to collapse tunnels or block access points over the years, Israel has also built a sensor-equipped anti-tunnel barrier under the fence that stretches the entire length of its border with Gaza.

During the 2014 war, Israel launched a ground offensive into Gaza aimed at destroying parts of the tunnel system but faced challenges in detecting, combating, and destroying them, according to the RAND Corporation.

Learning from that war and the 2018 campaign against Hezbollah, Israel has stepped up tunnel warfare training for its soldiers, developing new technologies to detect and collapse tunnels, as well as robotic platforms to map and fight in underground environments.

Israeli efforts to destroy tunnels from the air, including the use of "bunker-buster" bombs, often result in civilian casualties because the tunnels are located near densely populated areas.

Sourcethe root of the tunnel system

Tunnels have been used in Gaza since at least the early 1980s, after the city of Rafah was divided by new borders recognized in the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

With only one fortified border crossing, families in Rafah have been separated and the city's economy severely disrupted, forcing the construction of underground tunnels so family members can communicate and smugglers can transport goods.

The use of tunnels by militants was discovered during the first Palestinian Intifada, which began in 1987.