The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shared a video Sunday that captured the moment when part of a major Hamas tunnel network spanning over 1.5 miles exploded.
“IDF combat engineering forces destroy over 2.5km of an underground tunnel connecting Hamas terrorists through northern and southern Gaza,” the IDF tweeted alongside the video. (First Maritime Aid Shipments Arrive On Gaza’s Shores As Hamas Threat Looms Nearby)
🔴WATCH: IDF combat engineering forces destroy over 2.5km of an underground tunnel connecting Hamas terrorists through northern and southern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/YbU8WpUURD
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 17, 2024
The caption to the video says that this was “the longest terror tunnel” found to date in the northern Gaza Strip. The footage started with an IDF soldier appearing to sprint through a long section of tunnel. The footage then turned to black and white as it showed the overview of the moment when the tunnel network exploded. A vast chain of explosions in a zigzag pattern across two lines in the ground can be seen.
IDF combat engineers and the elite Yahalom unit were responsible for the demolition of this tunnel complex, the IDF said, The Times of Israel reported. Israeli officials have estimated that there are about 350 to 450 miles to Hamas’s underground tunnel complex in the Gaza Strip, an area of 140 square miles, The New York Times reported. This estimate, given in January, was far higher than a previous figure given out by the IDF, which was about 250 miles of tunnels in the Gaza Strip, according to The Times Of Israel.
The Yahalom unit is a specialized branch of combat engineers who are professionals in sabotage and demolition missions, according to the IDF. “At times, the unit uses robots and many remote controlled devices, without endangering human life,” the IDF says. The unit was established in 1995, according to First Post.