The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) destroyed a tunnel network Thursday used by the “elite” leaders of Hamas in the area of Shejaiya, in Gaza City, in northern Gaza.
The underground detonation, set by the combat engineers of the Yahalom (“Diamond”) unit, set off explosions underneath several city blocks.
The IDF said in a statement:
Last night (Wednesday), the IDF exposed the terrorist infrastructure embedded in Hamas’ “Elite Quarter” in Gaza City, including a large network of strategic underground tunnels which connect hideouts, and bureaus belonging to Hamas’ senior military and political leadership. Today (Thursday), the network of tunnels was destroyed in a controlled manner.
As Breitbart News reported on Wednesday, the IDF found the tunnel network after clearing Hamas terrorists out of the area around “Palestine Square,” where terrorists and Hamas supporters had jeered Israeli hostages on their capture and release.
The tunnels extended from the homes and offices of senior Hamas leaders and their aides, and consisted of several levels, with sophisticated construction that included underground elevators and blast doors to repel potential attacks and deflect explosions.
According to the Times of Israel, the IDF said Thursday that it had gained full control of Shejaiya, where Hamas terrorists had fought Israeli soldiers for several days. Nine elite Golani soldiers had been killed last week in a Hamas ambush there; it was also the neighborhood where three Israeli hostages were accidentally killed by the IDF after escaping their Hamas captors.
The detonation of the tunnel network is a significant moment for the Yahalom unit, which has lost several members in Gaza. Yahalom engineers are exposed to booby-trapped tunnels and must also fight Hamas soldiers it encounters near the tunnels.
Hamas said Thursday that it would not negotiate with Israel for the release of the roughly 128 hostages still in its custody unless Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire. It has rejected a pause that would allow Israel to resume fighting after hostage exchanges.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.