Gaza’s underground warfare Hamas hopes its tunnels will compensate for Israel’s overwhelming military superiority, while the IDF hopes its technology can transform them from a refuge into a trap GBU-28: Penetrates up to 30 metres Gaza Strip ISRAEL West Bank TUNNELS’ NETWORK Believed to be hundreds of kilometres long IDF using ground- penetrating radar and gravity detectors to Gaza map out City tunnels ISRAEL Gaza City Khan Younis GAZA STRIP EGYPT Tunnels allegedly destroyed by IDF in previous military operations 5km 3 miles YAHALOM FORCES Special operations unit of IDF’s Combat Engineering Corps tasked with clearing and destroying tunnels. Samur (Weasels) commandos trained specifically to fight underground 1 ROBOTS Equipped with cameras, explore tunnels and detonate booby traps IRIS throwbot: Can roll through tunnels MTGR (Micro Tactical Ground Robot): Can climb stairs 2 PURPLE HAIR Smoke grenade thrown into tunnel. If purple smoke – moving like strands of hair – exits from nearby building, that reveals another entrance 3 BUNKER-BUSTER BOMBS Laser-guided bombs that penetrate ground before detonating, can destroy relatively shallow tunnels 4 DRONES Lanius quadcopter uses computer vision to fly in enclosed spaces Lanius can carry grenade-sized munition 5 SPONGE BOMBS Large plastic bag contains two chemicals that, when mixed, expand into foam that hardens like concrete, blocking passages Pole separating liquids extracted before bomb is thrown into tunnel Depth: Up to 80m Weasels will have to navigate without help of GPS positioning devices, as signal cannot penetrate soil Trained dogs sometimes used to detect explosives Tunnels made of reinforced concrete, 1.8 metres high and one metre wide More than 200 hostages believed to be held by Hamas inside tunnels 1 2 3 4 5 Israel accuses Hamas of using public buildings – including Gaza’s main hospital, Al Shifa – as shield for tunnels Tunnel system includes command centres, medical facilities, storage areas and areas to manufacture rockets Tunnels laced with electric wires for telephone and internet. Guarded by mines and booby traps Some tunnels reportedly lined with transport rails to move rockets to locations where they can be launched Sources: Reuters, IDF, Elbit Systems, The National News Pictures: Newscom, IDF, Elbit System © GRAPHIC NEWS