Beneath the Surface: The Strategic Role of Gaza's Tunnels in Resistance

Under Gaza, Another City... The Tunnels of Gaza

These tunnels are a strategic weapon for resistance. Families from Rafah villages began digging these tunnels in the early 1990s as a simple means of smuggling goods and weapons from Egypt. 

Over the years, the tunnels grew larger, their routes extended, and their uses evolved, playing a significant role in the liberation of the Gaza Strip in 2005. 

When Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, it believed it had closed the chapter on the tunnels. 

However, a year after the withdrawal, it was surprised by the use of tunnels by the resistance beneath Gaza. In June 2006, the Karem Abu Salem site was targeted, and the soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped.

He remained in captivity for five years before being exchanged for 1,027 prisoners in the largest prisoner exchange operation in Israel's history, known as the Wafa al-Ahrar deal.

The surprises from the tunnels did not end. In 2013, the Israeli army discovered a strategic tunnel east of the town of Abasan, south of the Gaza Strip. 

This tunnel crossed the borders and reached a depth of 800 meters within the occupied territories, with a depth of 20 meters and a length of 2,500 meters. 

It was reinforced with 800 tons of reinforced cement to support its ceiling and sides. This tunnel was a shock to the Hebrew state due to its high specifications and secret execution.

This shock was one of the main military reasons for the Israeli army's incursion into Gaza to try to reach the tunnel's digging location and destroy it. However, the operation failed. The military failure in eliminating the tunnels led Israel to resort to the myth of the Iron Wall.

Construction of the Iron Wall began in 2016, above and below the ground, and Israeli authorities refused to disclose its depth. It is rumored to extend several meters underground. 

The wall cost more than a billion dollars, extending over 65 km with a height of 6 meters. 

The wall is equipped with sensors to detect tunnels, in addition to a network of radars, surveillance devices, and remote-controlled towers with heavy machine guns.

The myth of the wall was shattered by the Al-Qassam Brigades in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, while the secret of the tunnels remained the winning card in the hands of the Al-Qassam Brigades—one of the main reasons for postponing an Israeli ground war on Gaza.