Security source says IDF succeeded in destroying only about one quarter of Hamas’ tunnels in Gaza, estimates are that there are tunnels which cross into Egypt.
A security source on Wednesday morning said that the IDF has destroyed around 25% of Hamas’ tunnels in Gaza, Channel 12 News reported.
According to the report, the defense echelon believes that there is a significant number of smuggling tunnels which cross from Gaza into Egypt.
Earlier this year, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the Philadelphi Corridor will remain a buffer zone, similar to those in Lebanon and Syria.
“I saw with my own eyes more than a few tunnels which penetrate the Philadelphi,” he said. “Some of them are closed and some are open. We had information that Hamas, during the ceasefire, planned to attack soldiers and towns.”
Last year, The New York Times reported that that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar approved a $225,000 project to install blast doors to protect vulnerable sections of the tunnel network a year before the October 7 massacre.
According to the report, prior to the massacre, Israel focused on tunnels that were dug under the border with Gaza but largely ignored the tunnels being dug entirely within Gaza, allowing Hamas to build a vast network it has used to avoid unwanted confrontations, stage ambushes, travel in secret, and hide many of the approximately 250 hostages who were kidnapped on October 7.
Experts said that this vast tunnel network is the reason Israel has not yet succeeded in its stated goal of dismantling Hamas, as the terrorist group’s forces would stand little chance against the IDF if they were forced to fight entirely aboveground.
