Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip

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Not to be confused with Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels.
IDF soldier overlooking a hidden tunnel in the Gaza Strip

Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip is a form of tunnel warfare employed by the Hamas-led government of the semi-autonomous Palestinian population of Gaza. Tunnel warfare is conducted from underground corridors built underneath the Gaza–Israel border as well as a Gaza-based network of branching tunnels beneath the Khan Younis, Jabaliya, and Shati refugee camps and other dense settlements.[1] Destroying the tunnels is a primary objective of Israeli forces in the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[2] The number of tunnels going into Israel has been reported variously as 9[3] or 31[4]

Unlike the Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels built in southern Gaza to smuggle goods prohibited by the government of Egypt from entering Gaza, or to avoid customs duties, tunnels within Gaza and across the Gaza–Israel border serve military purposes. The tunnels are used to store and deploy weapons, shield armed militants, and facilitate cross-border attacks on the Israeli military including the capture of Israeli soldiers. Ihab al-Ghussein, spokesman for Hamas's interior ministry, describes the tunnels as an exercise of Gaza's "right to protect itself."[5] According to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the tunnels have been constructed by the military wing of Hamas under the Israel-Gaza border for the purpose of "terrorist attacks" on Israel.[6] The Israeli government refers to cross-border tunnels as "attack tunnels" or "terror tunnels."[6][7] However, only Israeli military targets have been attacked through cross-border tunnels.

Origins and construction

Photograph of a recently uncovered hidden tunnel in Gaza

The tunnel construction employed in the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict has its origins in the tunnels into Egypt that were constructed to overcome Egyptian and Israeli economic blockade on the coastal enclave which has been in effect since 2007.[8][9]According to unverified reports, some 160 children died, as of 2011, while building the earlier Rafah tunnels. The organization has done nothing to stop the use of child labour.[9][4]

The tunnels into Israel were constructed using the expertise of the Rafah families who have specialized in digging tunnels into Egypt for commerce and smuggling,[10] and have been described by former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya as representative of "a new strategy in confronting the occupation and in the conflict with the enemy from underground and from above the ground".[8] Between January and October 2013, three tunnels under the border were identified by Israel—two of which were packed with explosives.[11]

Hamas is estimated to have poured $30 million and 600,000 tons of concrete into building the tunnels.[12][13] Each tunnel is estimated to cost upwards of $1 million.[14]

Use in cross-border attacks

In the 2006 Gaza cross-border raid, Palestinian militants used a tunnel to abduct Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.[14]

October, 2013, IDF discovery of an "attack" or "terror" tunnel at Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha.[2][15]

On July 17, 2014, Hamas militants crossed the Israeli border through a tunnel near to the farming village of Sufa but were stopped by Israeli Defense Forces. Israeli authorities claimed the purpose had been to attack civilians.[16]

On July 21, 2014, two squads of armed Palestinian militants crossed the Israeli border through a tunnel near Kibbutz Nir Am. The first squad of ten was killed by an Israeli air strike. A second squad killed four Israeli soldiers using an anti-tank weapon. The Jerusalem Post reported that the attackers sought to infiltrate Kibbutz Nir Am, but a military source interviewed by the Times of Israel argued "the Hamas gunmen were not in motion or en route to a kibbutz but rather had camouflaged themselves in the field, laying an ambush for an army patrol."[17][3]

On July 28, Hamas militants attacked an Israeli military outpost near Nahal Oz using a tunnel, killing five Israeli soldiers. One attacker was also killed.[18]

Aug. 1, 2014 Hamas militants emerging from a tunnel attacked an Israeli patrol killing 2 Israeli soldiers. Israel at first believed that the militants had abducted Lieutenant Hadar Goldin and were holding him, but Israel later determined that Goldin had also been killed.[19]

Strategic objectives

Palestinian military personnel in Gaza explained to news Web site al-Monitor that the purpose of a cross-border tunnel was to conduct operations behind enemy lines in the event of an Israeli operation against Gaza.[20] A Palestinian militia document obtained by al-Monitor and also published in the Washington Post described the objectives of the under-border tunnels:

The tunnel war is one of the most important and most dangerous military tactics in the face of the Israeli army because it features a qualitative and strategic dimension, because of its human and moral effects, and because of its serious threat and unprecedented challenge to the Israeli military machine, which is heavily armed and follows security doctrines involving protection measures and preemption. ... [The tactic is] to surprise the enemy and strike it a deadly blow that doesn't allow a chance for survival or escape or allow him a chance to confront and defend itself[14][20]

A separate Al-Monitor report describes tunnels within Gaza and away from the border that serve two purposes: storing and shielding weapons including rockets and launchers, and providing security and mobility to Hamas soldiers.[21] The report states the latter function occurs in a set of "security tunnels": "Every single leader of Hamas, from its lowest ranking bureaucrats to its most senior leaders, is intimately familiar with the route to the security tunnel assigned to him and his family."[21]

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, an Israeli security think tank, describes tunnel warfare as a shifting of the balance of power: "Tunnel warfare provided armies facing a technologically superior adversary with an effective means for countering its air superiority." According to the center, tunnels conceal missile launchers, facilitate attacks on strategic targets like Ben-Gurion Airport, and allow cross-border access to Israeli territory.[22]

The Israeli government has called the tunnels "terror tunnels," stating that they have a potential to target civilians and soldiers in Israel.[6][14] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the aim was to abduct and kill civilians. An IDF spokesman said the goal is "to abduct or kill civilians but will make do with a soldier, too." But an unnamed "senior intelligence source" told The Times of Israel on July 28th that of the nine cross-border tunnels detected, none stretched into a civilian community, and that in the five infiltrations to that time Hamas had targeted soldiers rather than civilians.[3] (Another report from the same day says 31 tunnels had been found crossing into Israel.[4])

The Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv reported that, according to unnamed Israeli security sources, the tunnels were to be utilized in a mass casualty terror attack planned to take place on the Jewish high holy day of Rosh Hashanah, September 24, 2014. The plan was described to reporter Ariel Kahane by the sources, and reportedly revealed to the Israeli security Cabinet by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The alleged plot entailed a planned assault in which two hundred of heavily-armed Hamas fighters would have emerged at night from more than a dozen tunnels and infiltrate Israeli territory, killing and/or abducting Israeli citizens.[23]

A column in the Wall Street Journal cited Yigal Carmon, head of the Middle East Media Research Institute who claimed that it was the tunnels, and not the 2014 kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagers that was the immediate cause of war in the summer of 2014. According to Carmon's reading of the situation, the tunnels gave Hamas the ability to stake a mass-casualty attack on the scale of the 2008 Islamist terror attack on the Taj Hotel in Mumbai that killed 164 people. A July 5th Israeli airstrike damaged a tunnel near Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, and a group of Hamas military inspectors were killed in an explosion at the tunnel on July 6. According to Carmon, this may have persuaded Hamas that Israel was becoming aware of the scale of the capacity for militants to infiltrate Israel via tunnels, making a successful surprise mass-casualty attack less likely, and convincing the Hamas leadership to go to war immediately before more of the tunnels could be discovered and destroyed.[24]

An editorial in the Washington Post described the tunnels as "using tons of concrete desperately needed for civilian housing" and also as endangering civilians because they were constructed under civilian homes in the "heavily populated Shijaiyah district" and underneath the al-Wafa Hospital.[25]

Kidnapping/hostage taking

Kidnapping or taking Israeli civilians or soldiers hostage has been described as one of the primary goals of tunnel construction.[14] The Wall Street Journal described an attack tunnel inspected by one of its reporters as, "designed for launching murder and kidnapping raids. The 3-mile-long tunnel was reinforced with concrete, lined with telephone wires, and included cabins unnecessary for infiltration operations but useful for holding hostages."[26] In October 2013, according to the newspaper Haaretz, "The IDF's working assumption (wa)s that such tunnels will be made operative whenever there is an escalation in the area, whether initiated by Hamas or by Israel, and will be used for attacks and abduction attempts. If Hamas initiates such an escalation while holding several Israeli citizens or soldiers, it would be in a much stronger position."[27] According to the New York Times, one tunnel contained "a kidnapping kit of tranquilizers and plastic handcuffs" to facilitate kidnapping.[2][28]

References

  1. ^ Piven, Ben (2014-07-23). "Gaza's underground: A vast tunnel network that empowers Hamas". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  2. ^ a b c Rudoren, Jodi (28 July 2014). "Tunnels Lead Right to the Heart of Israeli Fear". New York Times. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Klein, Aaron J.; Ginsburg, Mitch (29 July 2014). "Could Israeli soldiers, not civilians, be the target of the attack tunnels?". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "At least 160 children died digging tunnels for Hamas'". Jerusalem Post. Jul 28, 2014. Archived from the original on Jul 29, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Palestinian government criticises UN position on Gaza tunnel". Middle East Monitor. 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  6. ^ a b c "Behind the headlines: Hamas' terror tunnels". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  7. ^ Batchelor, John (29 July 2014). "Hamas' attack tunnels are transforming war with Israel". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  8. ^ a b 'Gaza's Tunnels, Now Used to Attack Israel, Began as Economic Lifelines,' National Geographic James Verini, 21 July 2014.
  9. ^ a b Nicholas Pelham, 'Gaza's Tunnel Phenomenon: The Unintended Dynamics of Israel's Siege,' Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol 41, no. 4 (Summer 2012), p. 6.
  10. ^ Anshel Pfeffer, 'Hamas is losing on the battlefield but hitting Israel where it hurts,' Haaretz 24 July 2014.
  11. ^ Fiske, Gavriel and Ginsburg. (13 October 2013). "IDF blames Hamas for 'terror tunnel' from Gaza to Israel Defense minister halts transfer of construction supplies to the Strip after 500 tons of cement used to construct underground passage", Times of Israel
  12. ^ [1] "Secret Tunnels Under Israel Reveal Threat From Gaza", Calev Ben-David, July 27, 2014, Newsweek.
  13. ^ [2] Liel Leibovitz, July 23, 2014, "Some Concrete Facts About Hamas", Tablet Magazine.
  14. ^ a b c d e McCoy, Terrence (21 July 2014). "How Hamas uses its tunnels to kill and capture Israeli soldiers". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  15. ^ [3] "How Hamas dug its Gaza 'terror tunnel,' and how the IDF found it", Mitch Ginsberg, Oct. 16, 2013, The Times of Israel
  16. ^ [4] "IDF thwarts Gaza terrorists from attempted tunnel infiltration into Israel", Yaakov Lappin, July 17, 2014, Jerusalem Post.
  17. ^ [5] "10 terrorists killed attempting to infiltrate Israel through tunnel", Yaakov Lappin, 07/21/2014, Jerusalem Post.
  18. ^ Bryant, Christa Case (2014-07-28). "Hamas attacks by tunnel rattle Israelis on Gaza border (+video)". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  19. ^ [6] Israeli soldier 'captured in tunnel attack' by Gaza militants , Heather Saul, Aug. 1, 2014, The Independent.
  20. ^ a b Abu Amer, Adnan. "Tunnel May Signal Shift In Hamas-Israel Conflict". Al Monitor. Al Monitor. Retrieved 29/07/2014. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  21. ^ a b Eldar, Shlomi (2014-07). "Gaza tunnels take IDF by surprise". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2014-07-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Halevi, Jonathan D. "Hamas's Attack Tunnels: Analysis and Initial Implications". Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  23. ^ "Report: Hamas planned Rosh Hashanah attack through Gaza tunnels". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Jul 28, 2014. Archived from the original on Jul 30, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help), citing "חמאס תכנן: מאות מחבלים יגיחו ממנהרות בראש השנה". he:nrg. Jul 25, 2014. Archived from the original on Jul 30, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ Michael B. Mukasey (Jul 20, 2014). "Tunnels Matter More Than Rockets to Hamas". Wall Street Journal. {{cite news}}: Check |authorlink1= value (help)
  25. ^ "The U.S. should push for the disarming of Hamas in Gaza-Israel cease-fire", July 23, 2014, Washington Post.
  26. ^ [7] "The Moral Chasm Between Israel and Hamas; The 3-mile-long tunnel from Gaza was designed for launching murder and kidnapping raids". James Conway, July 24, Wall Street Journal.
  27. ^ [8] "Hamas' strategic tunnels: Millions of dollars to spirit kidnapped Israelis into Gaza", Amos Harel, Oct. 14, 2013, Haaretz.
  28. ^ [9] "Destroying Hamas's kidnapping tunnels only way to protect Israelis", Jeffrey Goldberg, July 28, 2014, National Post.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip.
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