Israel officially pumps water into Hamas tunnels, refuses to withdraw troops

Israeli soldiers at a Hamas tunnel in the Gaza Strip

AFP news agency reported on January 31 that the Israeli army confirmed that it was pumping water into Hamas tunnels, amid continuing fierce conflict in the Gaza Strip, while international negotiators pushed for a new ceasefire.

The epicentre of the fighting is Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza, where large areas have been reduced to wasteland with bombed-out buildings.

The Israeli military says it has used water-based tactics to penetrate Hamas' vast network of underground tunnels, which it calls the "Gaza subway".

"It is part of a series of tools deployed by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to neutralize the threat posed by Hamas' underground tunnel network," according to the Israeli military.

Israel continues to attack Khan Younis, Gaza residents have nowhere to run in the cold

At the beginning of the Hamas-Israel conflict in October 2023, there were about 1,300 tunnels stretching more than 500 km in the Gaza Strip, according to research by the US Military Academy at West Point.

In December 2023, some Israeli media reported that the military was planning to flood Hamas tunnels with seawater pumped from the Mediterranean, but experts warned that this was dangerous and posed a great risk to civilians.

As of January 30, the Israeli military said it was taking care not to “damage the area’s groundwater.”

In Khan Younis, the IDF said fighting in the city's apartment blocks and tunnels had "eliminated terrorists while fighting and seized a large amount of weapons."

In the latest effort to push for a ceasefire, a meeting in Paris on January 28 with the participation of US, Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials proposed a framework for the agreement.

As of January 30, Hamas said it had received the proposal and was reviewing it before responding.

US weapons 'leverage' in the war in Gaza

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in his proposed Gaza ceasefire. "I want to make it clear that we will not withdraw the IDF from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists. None of that will happen," he stressed.

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