IDF discovers kilometre-long, booby-trapped labyrinth of tunnels where Hamas is said to have kept 20 hostages held captive in cramped rooms with children’s drawings left on the walls

The Israeli army has discovered a kilometer-long booby-trapped tunnel in which Hamas is believed to have held about twenty hostages.

At the end of the tunnel were cramped cells where the prisoners were held: five narrow rooms behind metal bars.

Toilets, mattresses and even drawings of a child taken hostage in November were found, military spokesman Adm. Daniel Hagari said.

The military released photos of the underground labyrinth and said it employed journalists to document the tunnel before it was destroyed.

The tunnel entrance, Mr. Hagari said, was at the home of a Hamas member in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, where Israel has focused its fighting in recent weeks.

Toilets, mattresses and even drawings of a child taken hostage in November were found

The Israeli army has discovered a kilometer-long booby-trapped tunnel in which Hamas is believed to have held about twenty hostages.

“The soldiers entered the tunnel where they encountered terrorists and engaged in a battle that ended with the elimination of the terrorists,” he added.

It comes as the Hamas-led Health Ministry claimed that more than 25,000 Palestinians have now been killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict.

America is pushing for more negotiations between Israel and Hamas after families of the hostages held in Gaza traveled to Washington with the Daily Mail to call for their release.

The US, Egypt and Qatar are pressuring both sides to agree and it is said that Israel and Hamas are ready to hold talks in Cairo.

This comes after families of female hostages traveled to the US capital to push US politicians to free them.

They presented copies of a Daily Mail article about the hostage nightmare to key leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Congressman Jan Schakowsky and Democrat Katherine Clark.

The military released photos of the underground labyrinth and said it enlisted journalists to document the tunnel before it was destroyed

At the end of the tunnel were cramped cells where the prisoners were held: five narrow rooms behind metal bars

Congresswoman Schakowsky told the Daily Mail after accepting the framed fragment: “We absolutely cannot forget the thirteen women – most of whom are teenage girls – who are still being held hostage. Time is of the essence.

“I am doing everything I can to ensure that the priority remains getting all hostages home safely.”