Israeli soldiers move in a Hamas tunnel (Photo: Reuters).
Israel said on January 30 that it was pumping water into tunnels in Gaza to destroy a vast network used by Hamas to launch attacks on Tel Aviv's military.
"This is part of a series of tools deployed by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to neutralize the threat posed by Hamas' underground tunnel network," the IDF said in a statement.
According to a study from the US military academy West Point, Hamas owned a system of 1,300 tunnels more than 500km long in Gaza when the war with Israel broke out in October 2023.
The IDF has vowed to eliminate Hamas after an attack on Tel Aviv-controlled areas that left 1,200 people dead. Hamas also took 250 hostages. Currently, 132 people are still being held.
According to Gaza's health authority, Israel launched an air, land and sea attack on the strip that killed at least 26,751 people, mostly women and children.
The Israeli military says many hostages held by Hamas have been or continue to be held in the vast tunnel network.
In December 2023, some Israeli media reported that the Israeli military was considering pumping seawater from the Mediterranean into underground bunkers. However, experts warned that this option was dangerous and posed a great risk to civilians in Gaza.
"The pumping will cause serious damage to Gaza's already fragile water and wastewater infrastructure. There is even a risk of buildings and roads collapsing due to increased pressure and seawater entering Gaza," warned Lynn Hastings, the former UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories.
On January 30, the IDF said it was careful not to “damage the area’s groundwater.”
"Water pumping is only carried out in suitable tunnels, locations, and with appropriate methods," the notice said.
The tunnel system was originally used by Hamas to bypass Israel's tough blockade of the Gaza Strip since 2007. The system was expanded after the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.
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