The myriad tunnels under Gaza are best known as passages used to smuggle goods out of Egypt and carry out attacks against Israel.
But there is also a second underground network, which the Israeli army calls the “Gaza metro”. This network is nothing more than a vast labyrinth of tunnels, in some cases many kilometers underground, used to transport people and goods as well as to store missiles and ammunition. The “Gaza metro” also houses Hamas command and control centers, as this enables them to be away from the surveillance of IDF aircraft and drones.
Hamas: “We have built 500 kilometers of tunnels”
Hamas in 2021 claimed to have built 500 kilometers worth of tunnels under Gaza, although it is unclear whether this figure was accurate or exaggerated. If true, Hamas’ underground tunnels are half the length of the New York subway.
The cost of the underground network located in the impoverished coastal Gaza Strip is unclear, but analysts say it is significant, especially given the enclave’s data.
It is recalled that Gaza has been under a land, sea and air blockade by Israel as well as a land blockade by Egypt since 2007 and is not believed to have the type of machinery normally used to build tunnels deep underground. Experts say diggers in Gaza use simpler tools that can do the job effectively if the network is wired with electricity and reinforced with concrete. Israel has long accused Hamas of misusing concrete intended for humanitarian and utility projects to build tunnels.
Hamas critics also say the organization’s huge spending on building the underground network could instead have been used for civilian bomb shelters or early warning networks like those on the border with Israel.
The comparative advantage
Tunnels have been an attractive tool of warfare since medieval times. Today they give terrorist groups like Hamas an advantage in asymmetric warfare, negating some of the technological advantages of a more advanced military like the IDF.
What makes the tunnels of Hamas different from those of Al Qaeda in the mountains of Afghanistan or the Viet Cong in the jungles of Southeast Asia is that the construction of the network took place under one of the most densely populated areas on the planet as nearly 2 million people live in 88 square miles that make up Gaza City.
