If the Israel Defense Forces conduct a ground campaign in Gaza, the threat of Hamas tunnels will be one of the most significant challenges to contend with. Many miles of these tunnels crisscross below the surface of Gaza, some as deep as 230 feet underground. Collectively, they offer Hamas fighters the means to protect themselves against the Israeli offensive, maneuver undetected below the surface, and launch attacks before returning to the security of the tunnels.
But what can Israeli forces do about the tunnels when they encounter them? Is it feasible to seal them? Can they be destroyed with bunker-buster munitions or other explosives? Are there other ways to render them unusable? The answers to these questions are complicated, and to explore them, John Spencer welcomes Dr. Daphne Richemond-Barak back to the Urban Warfare Project Podcast for this special episode. She is a professor at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy at Reichman University, the author of the book Underground Warfare, and the creator of the International Working Group on Subterranean Warfare.
You can listen to the discussion below or find the episode on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, or your favorite podcast app. Be sure to subscribe, and if you’re enjoying the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, please take a minute and leave the podcast a review or give it a rating!
Image credit: Israel Defense Forces
Hello to Israel under attack,
It is appalling the treacherous attack on Israel with so many Israeli citizens killed and the abduction of so many people, especially three-year-old children. This breaks my heart.
I understand Israel defending itself!
In order to urgently deal with the humanitarian crisis of the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip, it would be possible to only take Palestinian women and children who want it and do not support Hamas out of the Gaza Strip and bring them to a prepared camp in the desert, like this it was recently proposed by the Egyptian President.
Then the Islamic world, which is becoming increasingly angry and dangerous, would see the goodwill towards the Palestinian civilian population and recognize the help towards the Palestinian civilian population.
It would be good if negotiations could be concluded with Egypt for this.
And it would also be a start for a two-state solution in the future.
It would be important, in my opinion, just as the world agreed in 1948 that Israel could form a recognized state, the same is declared for Palestinians worldwide – without Hamas.
A state with coastal strips and territory in the desert, with help to be able to live there.
If the Palestinian civilian population is evacuated, at least those who want it, the Hamas terrorists, who no one wants, can continue to be fought without hitting the innocent civilian population.
With great sadness in my heart
Ricarda Rabe
After what happened on October 7, 2023 anyone who still speaks about the two-state solution is delusional one. The state of "Falyastyn" never existed in the past, it does not exist now and I am confident that Israel will allow such state to exist and put the Jewish State existence in danger.
One can't destroy all the tunnels. One can neutralize the tunnels and make them a giant tomb like Iwo Jima after WW2. Mortality rates to clear the tunnel systems in Gaza will be high. Robotic and drone warfare will evolve and come of age to clear the tunnels.
Flood them with oil and let them burn
The hostages are in the tunnels. You set them on fire, you also have to answer for killing the 240 people you're supposed to be rescuing.
To find tunnels and the 240 people underground use "Dowsing". The scientific community dismisses the Use of Dowsing,But I can find conduits, water lines and various things underground. I have found Electrical conduits 4 feet underground with 2 copper sticks. My accuracy is excellent.Possibly find things/ tunnels much deeper. Technology like Satellites,GPS and dog robots are not sufficient enough to locate tunnels and the vast tunnel network,as portrayed on CBS news Sunday morning "underworld". Dowsing will work for the subdomains and tunnel environments.
Good idea this works well here in Australia and has been used for centuries
flood them with carbon monoxide and there are no casualities on IDF side.
It would seem that with all the water surrounding this area it wouldn’t be that challenging to set up large volume seawater pumps to start flooding them. Water by its physical properties will automatically seek out the tunnels and effectively end the tactical advantage they provide.
Please fill the tunnels with sea water
Buen dia, disculpen mi comentario dado que no conozco del tema pero por que no usan las armas infrasonicas que desde hace mas de 50 años estan bien desarrolladas sobre todo por los franceses que destruyeron edificios cuando probaban frecuencias ultrabajas? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_weapon
Ademas, si se encuentra una boca de tunel -o al menos una parte- se inyecta sonido de baja frecuencia en una parte y de ese modo se puede seguir con un sonar el recorrido del tunel, es casi como iluminarlo en su recorrido,
tambien se puede inyectar alta frecuencia y dejar sordos a los habitantes -con daños colaterales- en realidad depende de la potencia.
Asimismo por que no usan gases adormecedores que sean densos y mas pesados que el aire?
O gases combustibles bajo presion que recorran el tunel y luego lo encienden
Los gases mas pesados ingresaran desde una punta mas alta, en una entrada y por su densidad ira recorriendo el camino, bueno hay mas opciones
inundar los tuneles de murcielagos o usando perros rastreadores con o sin explosivos, etc.
en una punta del tunel
no veo que las opciones esten limitadas y en ningun caso se arriesgan soldados
por otra parte se pueden detonar bombas que extraigan el oxigeno al explotar o inyectar oxigeno de alta pureza y hacerlo explotar, hay mas opciones todavia, saludos.
smoke them out. use stink bombs. drop countless wild hogs into the tunnels.
You guys are twisting pretzels. When dealing with terrorists who do not care a whit about the rules of warfare, the rules of warfare must go out the window for defenders. Your agonizing about the right and proper thing to do ties the hands of defenders and is a waste of time and resources. Senseless.
The tunnels have their weakness for Hamas. A poisonous gas just needs to be pumped into them to eradicate all those hiding within. While this may seem horrible to many, it pales into significance compared to what Hamas have done. This also targets Hamas and not the civilians. However there may be hostages held there and those hostages may have no chance of being freed, poison gas or not.
True only thing is the hostages who Have probably been killed anyway
Those closet to the sea should be slant drilled into and allow the see to flood the tunnel. The others when every the entrances is found pour and entire full truck into the hole collapse the entrance and then detonate the fuel. Suffocate those that you can. How about filling them with Carbon monoxide. This is war and when you fight for survival no rules apply.
Acrtually, all the rules continue to apply. Even in the hellish heart of the most desperate and savage carnage imaginable. After the smoke dissipates and the corpses are given proper burial, various tribunals will begin gathering evidence ….measuring what happened during this conflict against the laws of war. Such laws exist for a reason. They are universally applicable, no exceptions and no excuses. Every combattant who violates them can expect potentially to be held accountable. As can every individual who supervised or gave orders to those combattants. All the way up the chain of command to the Chiefs of Staff, the Minister of Defence, and the President or Prime Minister. This is civilization, and when you violate the laws of civilized warfare….yep, there is such a thing…you can expect to pay the price.
ISRAEL IS NOT PART OF THE ROME STATUTE. While some might shake their heads and fingers at them, they can basically do whatever they want. I don't blame them. If Hamas came in and killed my family and my people, I would do the same!
I heard one person say that making rules on warfare is dangerous because it pretends that warfare can be civilized. In the Pacific in WW2 the US lost huge numbers of people in relatively small areas (Iwo Jima) and It seems that flooding the area with heavier than air chlorine gas would have been effective. I have a lot of trouble understanding why this is wrong but it is OK to burn them alive with napalm or drop atomic bombs on them.That would have prevented the deaths of thousands of US soldiers.
Interviewing 101: let the guest talk. Ask simple questions and get out of the way.
Inject pigs with rabies and release them into the tunnels. If they're wired to explode the pigs will trip it and no muslim will want to be buried in a tunnel with pigs. After 15 days of rabies takes effect and kills the pig any Hamas terrorist that comes in contact would need a rabies shot within 15 days or the person would die as well. No need to send well trained German shepherds into the tunnels and risking them dying from explosives
Great idea
Employ a large high bypass gas turbine engine thrust directed into the tunnel entrance add a fluorescent dye or otherwise, after 20 minutes the covers over any unknown entrances will leak very hot air or blow out, plus it will be extremely unbearable for anyone inside , thermal cameras will easily pick up where the heat is escaping from thus revealing their location, the beauty of this method is the volume of pressurised air generated is massive, if the engine is given enough time to run this will work on almost any length of tunnel
With a nice side effect of undoing over 10 years of underground work using misdirected funds, Israel could use sea water and flood the tunnels. The process could take up to 9 months, but could be done in as little as one month with more equipment to pressurize the flow. See https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2023/11/01/flood_the_gaza_tunnels_989879.html?mc_cid=238320a63b
I think that it is astonishing that there are folks in the discussion who think that the IDF is relieved of any duties under IHL because Hamas does not regard itself to be bound by the rule of law. It is the same as saying, internally, that the police need not observe any law as to catching an alleged criminal because the criminal is a criminal. If the rule of law only applies when we are dealing with someone we like, we do not need the rule of law at all. And, notably, the civilians are not Hamas and may not even be Hamas sympathizers. I am tempted to say something stronger, but I think it best to leave it there.
Is there a way to destroy power electrical sources