Hamas’ tunnel network in Gaza ‘remains 80 per cent intact’ despite extensive Israeli efforts to dismantle system – as fierce fighting rages in Palestinian territory

The Hamas tunnel network in Gaza remains about 80 percent intact, despite extensive Israeli efforts to dismantle the underground system, American and Israeli sources estimate.

Since launching a ground offensive in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre, in which Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 253 hostages, Israeli forces have worked tirelessly to destroy the extensive tunnel network under Gaza.

Israeli forces believe Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other terror commanders are hiding underground.

Some tunnels have been bombed, others have been flooded. However, progress has been slow because underground passages must be mapped and checked for booby traps and hostages before Israeli forces can destroy them.

Israeli and U.S. officials estimate that 20 to 40 percent of the underground labyrinth has been damaged or rendered unusable, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict

Israeli forces believe Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other terror commanders are hiding underground

A senior Israeli military official told the Journal that the IDF was focusing on eliminating “nodes” in the tunnels where Hamas operatives are hiding, rather than destroying entire networks.

‘It’s a very tough mission. It happens slowly and very carefully. It is urban warfare that is not seen globally,” the official said.

It comes as heavy fighting raged in Gaza on Sunday amid a fierce row over the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which is putting its future in doubt.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on donor countries to ensure the flow of vital aid to Gaza after funding for the organization, UNRWA, was cut several times over Israeli claims that some of its staff took part in the 7 attacks. October.

The Israeli army said on Sunday that special forces continued to wage “intensive fighting” in Gaza’s main southern town of Khan Yunis, where it said troops had “eliminated terrorists and located large quantities of weapons”.

Strikes were also carried out in central and northern Gaza, it added.

As fierce fighting sent more and more people fleeing south towards the Egyptian border, the row over the UNRWA aid agency for Palestinian refugees deepened.

UNRWA said Friday it has fired several employees following Israel’s accusations about the involvement of some of its staff in the October 7 Hamas attack.

The network of tunnels was built after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 and has since been used to carry out several attacks on Israel (photo, Palestinian militants in the tunnels)

Israel has struggled to destroy the tunnels because they are extremely difficult to detect from the air (file image: An IDF officer inspects a tunnel in Gaza)

A member of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, walks into a tunnel used for military exercises during a weapons exhibition at a Hamas-run summer camp for youth in Gaza City.

Donors including Germany, Britain, Italy, Australia and Finland on Saturday followed the lead of the United States, which said it had suspended additional funding to the agency over the allegations.

The US is one of UNRWA’s largest donors and has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to support the effort.

Last June, the US sent $153.7 million to UNRWA in a single donation, which Lazzarini said at the time was enough to “keep more than 700 schools and 140 health centers open in the coming months.”

The year before, the US was UNRWA’s largest donor, contributing a total of $344 million in 2022.

Britain has also sent significant sums of money to the agency. In September, former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced a £10 million aid package for UNRWA.

“While I understand their concerns – I myself was shocked by these allegations – I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to at least guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations,” Guterres said late on Saturday.

“The serious needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met,” he said.

A photo taken on January 18, 2018 from the Israeli side of the Gaza Strip border shows an Israeli army officer walking near the entrance to a tunnel

Plumes of smoke rise during Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 12

Israel’s envoy to the UN denounced Guterres, saying the UN chief had repeatedly ignored “evidence” presented to him regarding UNRWA’s involvement in “sedition and terrorism.”

“Any country that continues to fund UNRWA before a comprehensive investigation into the organization has been launched should know that its money will be used for terrorism,” Gilad Erdan said on Sunday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called on UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini to resign after previously saying the organization “must be replaced by bodies committed to real peace and development.”

“Mr. Lazzarini, please resign,” Katz said late Saturday on X, formerly Twitter, in response to a message from UNRWA chief warning that the cuts meant the agency’s Gaza operation was about to collapse to deposit.