Israel Flooding And Destroying Rafah Tunnels To Push Remaining Terrorists Out

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The IDF is mapping the tunnels in eastern Rafah, where Hamas terrorists are trapped. The forces are using machines to dig into the tunnels and destroy them with explosives, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Israel estimates that there were around 100 to 200 terrorists in the tunnels when the cease-fire began in October. In public statements, Hamas officials said that about 60 to 80 of them are still hiding there. In some areas, Israel is flooding the tunnels with water to push the trapped terrorists out, a senior Israeli military official said.

The result is pressure on the terrorists, who face a choice between being killed inside the tunnels or fleeing dangerously into Hamas-controlled territory. It is a fight to the death that continues even as combat operations have largely ceased elsewhere.

The United States had hoped that finding a solution for the Rafah terrorists militants would also serve as a model for how Hamas could be disarmed through peaceful means, Arab officials and an American official told The Wall Street Journal. Instead, the situation has become an obstacle to progress in an agreement, as foreign governments are reluctant to send money or troops into Gaza while active fighting persists and Hamas refuses to step aside.

Hamas began digging tunnels in Rafah about two decades ago, and the network has developed into an especially complex underground system. Although the IDF now has full control above ground in Rafah, the military still struggles to fully map the subterranean network where Hamas terrorists militants are hiding, a senior IDF official said.