The Israeli military has begun pumping seawater into a vast complex of Hamas tunnels in Gaza, according to US officials with knowledge of the Israeli military’s operations, part of an intensive effort to destroy the underground infrastructure that underpins the group’s operations, The Wall Street Journal reports.
During the press briefing, a senior Israeli army official answered questions on the report. Referring to the impossibility of revealing operational specifics, the official emphasised that the Israeli army has long been developing tactical options for dealing with tunnels. He stressed that there are many methods of neutralising tunnels.
Asked whether the Israeli army has begun flooding or plans to flood any underground tunnels, he echoed recent statements by Israeli Army Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi, but did not comment in detail.
Earlier, Halevi said that flooding the tunnels was a “good idea”.
Israeli prisoners released by Hamas in Gaza say they were held in underground passages. Experts warn that flooding the tunnels with seawater could cause irreversible environmental damage. Israel believes the underground system was key to Hamas operations on the battlefield.
Israel has carried out sustained airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, imposed a full siege and launched a ground offensive in response to a cross-border Hamas attack on 7 October. Since then, Israeli attacks have killed at least 18,608 Palestinians and injured nearly 50,600 others, according to Gaza health authorities.
Official figures put the death toll from the Hamas attack at 1,200 and some 139 hostages remain in captivity.
