Israeli soldiers uncovered a booby-trapped tunnel in the Gaza Strip, believed to have been used by Hamas to detain around 20 hostages. The kilometer-long tunnel, which had cramped cells, was found devoid of hostages at the time of its discovery.
Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari provided details of the tunnel, which included a holding area with five narrow rooms, toilets, mattresses, and even drawings by a child hostage. The child was among those released during a November truce facilitated by Qatar. The tunnel’s entrance was located in a house belonging to a Hamas member in Khan Younis, a focal point of Israel’s recent military operations against the Palestinian militant group.
The tunnel, equipped with blast doors and explosives, presented a dangerous environment for the soldiers during their operation. Hagari described the harsh conditions in which the hostages were kept, noting the absence of daylight, dense air with limited oxygen, and high humidity making breathing difficult.
Some hostages previously held in the tunnel were freed during the Qatari-mediated truce, while others remain among the more than 130 individuals captured by Hamas during their October 7 rampage through southern Israel. The military’s decision to bring in journalists to document the tunnel before its destruction underscores the significance of the find and its potential impact on the ongoing conflict in the region.
