Dramatic footage shows Israel destroying 4 miles of Gaza terror tunnels, including Islamic Jihad ‘flagship’ route
The Israeli Defense Forces demolished six terror tunnels spanning nearly 4 miles underneath Gaza City on Tuesday, including one that served as the “flagship” tunnel for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad extremist group, officials said.
The Israeli military detonated the vast tunnel network in the Shejaiya neighborhood, dismantling a large portion of the underground network used by Hamas and other terror groups in northern Gaza — including several booby-trapped buildings, officials said.
The operation also saw Israeli troops take out more than 150 Hamas fighters hiding in and around the tunnels, with intelligence officers also locating a trove of documents and weapons.
“In some of the branches, terrorist hideouts and command and control centers were located. In one of the tunnels, weapons and intelligence documents were located,” the Israeli military said.
One of the branching tunnels the IDF’s 98th Division troops found was operated by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally that also helped carry out the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel which left 1,200 people dead.
The Islamic Jihad tunnel was described as the group’s “flagship” tunnel in Gaza City, spanning about 1.5 miles in length. It was also used by the terror group as a command base, military officials told The Times of Israel.
Other branching tunnels were located in the heart of the Shejaiya neighborhood, with at least two reaching close to the Israeli border just across from Nahal Oz, one of the kibbutzim decimated on Oct. 7, the Israeli military said.
Despite their proximity to Israel, officials don’t believe those tunnels were used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad during the terrorist attack.
After demolishing the six tunnels on Tuesday, military officials told the Times that at least three more tunnels have been located in the area and are being scheduled for demolition.
The operation in Shejaiya comes amid the IDF’s renewed fight in Gaza City after Hamas fighters returned to the area after exiting in December. The group also returned there in April.
The IDF said Monday that it was launching a new operation in the southern and western neighborhoods of Gaza City — which was the most populous city in the Gaza Strip before the war — after discovering Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives have regrouped there.
The Israeli military has once again issued an evacuation warning to cover most of Gaza City.
The call to evacuate the area garnered renewed outrage from the United Nations and Humanitarian groups after the Palestinian Red Crescent revealed that due to the order, all of its medical clinics were out of service in Gaza City.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said that 38,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning the way. The ministry does not differentiate between terrorists and civilians in its death toll.
