Gaza Tunnels Pose Challenge to Israel in War on Hamas

Islamic Jihad fighters guard a Gaza tunnel in March. (Getty Images)
Islamic Jihad fighters guard a Gaza tunnel in March. (Getty Images)
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Gaza Tunnels Pose Challenge to Israel in War on Hamas

Islamic Jihad fighters guard a Gaza tunnel in March. (Getty Images)
Islamic Jihad fighters guard a Gaza tunnel in March. (Getty Images)

Exactly ten years ago in October 2012, Israel announced the discovery of the “first offensive tunnel” in the Gaza Strip. The tunnel stretched 800 meters, from Khan Younis to a hundred meters into Israeli territory, and was 20 meters deep underground and was two meters in width and height.

Israel did not find any weapons or explosives in the tunnel, with experts speculating that Hamas was using it to kidnap Israeli soldiers. A major Israeli military commander declared to Haaretz at the time: “We will make them regret this and we will push them to despair.”

The army destroyed the tunnel, as it did others it had previously discovered. The military even set up a unit dedicated to the destruction of tunnels. It included scientists whose task was to build electronic devices that can detect the underground passages.

Then commander of the Southern Command Yoav Gallant said: “It is a war of minds between us and Hamas. We are waging it for one sole purpose: victory.” Gallant is now defense minister, and the tunnels now extend far and wide in Gaza. He still speaks of “victory” and even of genocide.

In the past ten years, the Israeli army realized that it could not eliminate the tunnel phenomenon. Rather, the tunnels have since grown and become more developed. At first, they were built to allow Hamas fighters to counter Israeli ground attacks and ambush their troops.

They then used them to kidnap soldiers and succeeded in 2014. Two soldiers were kidnapped, and they are still held by Hamas. Israel then decided to build a massive wall, stretching 65 kilometers, above and below ground to prevent Hamas from building tunnels that can extend into Israeli territory. The wall cost Israel a billion dollars, but Hamas only needed to hire contractor for 200 dollars so he can drive bulldozer into the wall and destroy a portion of it.

The movement then expanded the tunnels deep into Gaza. It constructed a massive network that can only be compared to ones in North Korea. The Israelis have not ruled out the possibility that Pyongyang, not just Tehran, may have aided Hamas in the planning.

Furthermore, Hamas may have even benefited from Israeli expertise. In 1980, it had built a whole underground floor under al-Shifa hospital in Gaza when it was still occupying the enclave.

Underground fortress

Israel preoccupied itself in recent years in monitoring the expansion of the tunnels in Gaza and inside its own territories. To destroy some of the tunnels, it used a material that would expand and harden and use up all empty space, sealing off the tunnels.

Meanwhile, Hamas took its time in enlarging its network of tunnels in Gaza. The tunnels now total around 1,300, reaching around 70 meters underground and extending 500 kilometers. Jacob Nagel, former head of Israel's National Security Council, said the tunnels are probably even longer than that, extending thousands of kilometers.

The Israeli army has claimed that it has “detailed maps” of the tunnels and was preparing the right plans to turn them into “graveyards” for Hamas leaders, who in turn, have said that the tunnels have been heavily developed in the past two years. The technology there will shock the Israelis and turn them into a huge trap for its soldiers, they have warned.

The tunnels have become a major headline of the Gaza war. Hamas leaders and some 20,000 fighters are using the tunnels, which are like an underground fortress.

'Lower Gaza’

There isn’t exactly a life in the tunnels given how difficult it can be to live there. However, they are more than just long passageways that the word tunnel implies. Hamas has in fact built an actual city - “Lower Gaza” - under Gaza. Some people have spoken of two Gazas under the ground, meaning that there is actually a third Gaza below the underground city.

The network boasts rest areas, meeting rooms, and sleeping areas. It is fully equipped and features a modern ventilation system. It holds storage for food, medicine and fuel and has its own encrypted telecommunications system that Israel has failed in deciphering, as demonstrated in Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7.

Israel has weighed its option in how to destroy the tunnels. Experts said it could seal them off with a foam material that expands and hardens in empty spaces and could enlarge to several meters thick. It could use vacuum bombs to destroy them and kill everyone using them. Hamas has stated it is aware of the options at Israel’s disposal and its fighters are ready to defy it.



What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
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What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)

Flash floods in Texas killed at least 100 people over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and left others still missing, including girls attending a summer camp. The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions.

Here's what to know about the deadly flooding, the colossal weather system that drove it in and around Kerr County, Texas, and ongoing efforts to identify victims.

Massive rain hit at just the wrong time, in a flood-prone place

The floods grew to their worst at the midpoint of a long holiday weekend when many people were asleep.

The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday's flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.

After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 a.m., some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.

Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain

In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 75 people, including 27 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Monday morning. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 94 as of Monday afternoon.

Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.

For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.

Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday had said that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said during a Monday news conference he couldn't give an estimate of the number of people still missing, only saying “it is a lot.”

Officials face scrutiny over flash flood warnings

Survivors have described the floods as a “pitch black wall of death” and said they received no emergency warnings.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said Saturday that “nobody saw this coming.” Officials have referred to it as a “100-year-flood,” meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.

And records behind those statistics don’t always account for human-caused climate change. Though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.

Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4 a.m. or told to evacuate.

Rice said Monday that he did not immediately know if there had been any communication between law enforcement and the summer camps between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday. But Rice said various factors, including spotty cell service in some of the more isolated areas of Kerr County and cell towers that might have gone out of service during the weather, could have hindered communication.

Rice said officials want to finish the search and rescue and then review possible issues with cell towers, radios and emergency alerts.

Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.

Kerr county officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.

Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort

The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.

"It’s going to be a long time before we’re ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it," Kelly said Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.

Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.

President Donald Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday.

AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction, and one of Texas' largest rescue and recovery efforts.