The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue to uncover massive Hamas tunnel complexes — some involving the sad discovery of the bodies of Israeli hostages.
On Sunday, the IDF released multiple videos of the tunnels, which were discovered by troops from the intelligence and engineering corps, and which revealed large, cavernous command rooms, toilets, and work spaces.
In a statement, the IDF said:
In recent weeks, the 551st Brigade of the 162nd Division secured control of the area of the Jabalya camp – one of Hamas’ operational centers in the Gaza Strip. The operations included fierce battles during which many terrorists were killed by IDF soldiers and hundreds of weapons were located.
As part of the operation, and following advanced intelligence, the soldiers, in cooperation with the Multidimensional Unit and the Yahalom Unit, exposed a strategic tunnel network that served as Hamas’ northern headquarters in Gaza. The underground headquarters, which included two levels – the first approximately 10 meters deep and the second dozens of meters deep. The tunnel network, with many routes, was used for directing combat and the movement of terrorists. At the depth of the military headquarters, weapons, infrastructure for manufacturing weapons, and emergency hideouts were found. The network was connected to a shaft leading to the residence of the Commander of Hamas’ Northern Brigade, Ahmad Andur. The underground network also passed beneath a school and a hospital.
In a centralized intelligence effort, led by Unit 504 of the Intelligence Directorate, the soldiers located and recovered the bodies of five hostages abducted on October 7th and brought them to be buried in Israel: Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, Sergeant Ron Sherman, Corporal Nik Beizer, Eden Zacharia, and Elia Toledano. May their memory be a blessing.
The findings were presented to the families by IDF representatives. The IDF expresses its condolences to the bereaved families and will continue to accompany them. The IDF, in cooperation with other security organizations, is continuing to act through a variety of intelligence and operational means to return the hostages.
Upon completion of this mission, the forces dismantled the subterranean headquarters. The demolition of the headquarters in Jabalya is part of the effort to deal with Hamas’ tunnel infrastructure and to strike at its senior commanders and its strategic capabilities. This effort is continuing at all times and is now being carried out in Khan Yunis and the southern Gaza Strip.
The IDF also continues to recover large caches of weapons and explosives in the Gaza Strip, including in schools. IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Saturday that Israel had found “30,000 explosive devices, including anti-tank missiles and rockets that were in Hamas’ possession.”
He added: “There is an immense amount of weaponry in Gaza, some as happened today, are found in schools. During our current operation in the Daraj-Tufah, we scanned schools and found weapons, including a significant amount of rockets and equipment belonging to Hamas’s naval commando unit. We seize the weapons, neutralizing Hamas’ terrorism capabilities.”
Hamas rocket launches into Israel have diminished, but have not stopped entirely, as the Israeli counter-offensive has advanced.
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.