Sy Hersh: Israeli Tactics to Obliterate Hamas Tunnels Fraught With Loss of Life

The Israel Defense Forces's all-out war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas includes underground warfare that aims to destroy "a labyrinth of tunnels under Gaza," US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh wrote in an article on Substack.

He recalled that over the past few days, the IDF has escalated its ground operation against Hamas by sending tank columns “directly into Gaza and firing from a distance at targets in Gaza City."

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist quoted an unnamed military source as saying that the goal was "to break Hamas's defensive perimeter around its main bunkers and tunnels in the center of Gaza City.

The source admitted that although such tactics minimize Israeli casualties and increase “enemy kills,” there are some problems. Primarily, the insider stressed, buildings and neighborhoods in Gaza are “flattened […] whether civilians are inside these buildings or not.”

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Moreover, “The slow approach takes time. How much time does Israel have to pursue this war?” the source said, referencing growing worldwide protests against the IDF operation in Gaza.

Hersh, for his part, pointed out that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) is doing its best to obliterate “the extensive Hamas tunnel system that includes exits and entrances underneath the thousands of residential and office buildings in Gaza City.”

In this vein, the source told the journalist that almost 50 percent of the targeted buildings inside Gaza City have already been destroyed, and that "the bombing is scheduled to continue until the IAF reaches its goal of wiping out 65 percent of the possible citywide escape routes for the Hamas leadership and its fighters."

Hersh quoted another unnamed source as describing the Hamas tunnels as something that was “dazzling in its ingenuity.”

“There were administrative tunnels, command-and-control tunnels, and storage tunnels throughout Gaza City,” the source claimed, adding that it was decided after the October 7 Hamas attack that “all buildings with terminal exits and entry points had to be bombed.”

Separate insiders told the journalist that "there is no sign that the Israeli leadership will stop the nearly round-the-clock bombing campaign until 65 percent of the targets for destruction have been hit." Right now, Hersh added, Gaza City looks “a deadly wasteland” due to the bombings.

The insiders told him that up to 20,000 Hamas fighters "were living and training in the vast [underground] system, which included heat, light, ventilation, and even air-conditioning. The citywide access made it possible for many to come and go to their families in Gaza City."

The sources also said that many Hamas tunnels “are believed to have collapsed as a result of the heavy bombing, and it is not clear how long the militants can survive, despite the tunnels’ heavy stockpiling of food and water.”

"I also have been told that there is no power throughout the underground tunnel system and all the fighters and hostages are living in the dark, Hersh said. In conclusion, he cited one of the sources saying that “from Israel’s perspective, it is now a no-holds-barred war."

The remarks come after the IDF promised to intensify its ground incursion the Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting ceasefire-related calls and saying that “Israel will fight until this battle is won.”

Seymour Hersh: Israel Won't Stop Bombing Gaza Until It Destroys 65% of Hamas Tunnels