What is the 'Gaza Metro,' longer than Delhi Metro, awaiting the IDF ground offensive?

When 85-year-old hostage Yocheved Lifshitz was released by Hamas on Tuesday (October 24), she recounted going through an "unimaginable hell" after being abducted from her kibbutz by Hamas on October 7 and taken to Gaza on a motorcycle, partially.

The remaining journey, along with other hostages, involved a walk through a “huge network” of tunnels that looked “like a spiderweb.” She mentioned they were made to walk for approximately three hours through "damp tunnels that opened into a hall."

These tunnels, more than 1000 in number are often referred to as the "Gaza Metro." As we do have Metros in Delhi, and Bengaluru to facilitate the movement of people and goods, the Gazans have it too. Some estimates say the whole maze is more than 500 km long, way longer than our Delhi Metro (approximately 350 km).

But this metro is much different from ours, in construction, utility, occupancy and a hundred other ways.

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What are these tunnels?

• As the name suggests, these are legit tunnels underground, dug to avoid blockades by Egyptians and Israelis on the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza.
• According to a Jerusalem Post report, there are around 1300 tunnels connecting Gaza to Egypt and Israel.
• According to a News Walla report, the Egyptian government started constructing underground tunnels and stopping the illegal movement of people and goods into the Sainai.
• According to the Jerusalem Post, the tunnels are just 2 meters wide and 2 meters high.
• The US-based Modern War Institute says most of the tunnels under the Gazan enclave are "reinforced with concrete.

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Therefore to bypass the barriers, the underground tunnels, sometimes go as deep as 70 meters underground.

Why did they come up?

• The enclave of Gaza Strip, with a bit more than 2.3 million Palestinian population is surrounded by Egypt on one, Israel on two and the Mediterranean on the west side.
• So, the only in and out remains the border posts that are controlled by the Israeli Government.
• Since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, there have been multiple blockades on Gaza, following frequent tensions between Hamas and the Israelis. 
• The state of Israel in return to strangle Gaza has used it to choke the enclave by restricting the flow of essentials into it.

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What are they used for?

• But since it was constructed, it has not just been used for essentials. The tunnels over time, were used by the Hamas terrorists for operations, dwelling and movement.
• It is also noteworthy that the tunnels under Gaza are different from those used to connect Gaza to Israel.
• You find ammunition, rockets, living quarters of the Hamas leadership and command-and-control centres,” Daphne Richemond-Barak told MSNBC.
• These are not just random tunnels, these structures, underground also connect to "schools and mosques", she added.
• Hence, the military installations we do have on the ground, say in India, are established underground in Gaza, like barracks, administrative facilities, ammunition depots, hospitals, etc.

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'Gaza Metro' awaits the IDF

• With talks and apprehensions of a potential Israeli ground attack pending experts have said that these tunnel infrastructure will give the IDF a hard time.
• King's College London's Mike Martin told the Jerusalem Post, "In short, these tunnels balance out by neutralising Israel's advantages in firepower, tactics, technology, and organization, as well as the risk of being unable to distinguish between military and civilian targets."
• Bradley Bowman, the senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power told ABC News, "The tunnels permit some Hamas fighters to survive bombardment, move around Gaza under cover and concealment, resupply its forces, hide hostages and conduct surprise attacks."

As John Spencer, from the Modern War Institute, said these tunnels will be a key part of Hamas' "guerrilla warfare strategy," it will be interesting to see how the superior Israeli military's Yahalom deals with the 'muddy maze'.

(Yahalom, the special engineering unit of the IDF, specialises in underground warfare.)

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