Indeed, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has entered its second month since October 7, and the death toll on both sides has already exceeded 1960,000 people. The two sides have only temporarily ceased fire for the past 5 days in exchange prisoners. However, this is only a temporary respite, and there are still about 200 hostages held by Hamas, most of whom are citizens of Israel and Western countries. At the same time, Israel still holds some 7,000 Palestinian hostages. According to reports, Hamas claimed that the hostages were placed in very safe places, including tunnels in Gaza. The latest news shows that the Israeli army has begun flooding the Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip. According to the United States**, this is a test designed to assess Israel's ability to destroy Hamas's tunnel network. However, a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Defense refused to comment on the claims of the United States, suggesting that the operation may be far more complicated than the United States claims.
First of all, the Israeli Defense Ministry's refusal to respond suggests that what the US side says may be just the tip of the iceberg. The Gaza tunnels serve as both a gateway for Hamas and a refuge for the local population in the event of an Israeli attack. If large quantities of seawater were to pour into Gaza's tunnels, it could trigger another humanitarian catastrophe. Moreover, Israel agreed to a temporary ceasefire precisely for the exchange of hostages. Therefore, the rescue of the hostages is an important task for Israel. The Israeli hostages held by Hamas are undoubtedly extremely valuable targets, and only by rescuing these hostages can Israel be more cautious in attacking Hamas. In addition, many Western citizens are included among these hostages, and Israel needs to protect them and rescue them from serious repercussions in relations with its Western allies.
However, if the Hamas hostages are indeed housed in tunnels, Israel's flooding of seawater could result in the death of them all. This conflicts with one of the three goals set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is to rescue all the hostages. Israel, having an absolute military advantage, agreed to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for hostages, and it is unlikely that they will waste time before filling the sea with "tests". This means that Israel's actions have gone underground in Gaza, but in this regard, the statements of the US side may only be justifying Israel. Israel has been emphasizing the protection of civilians in its attacks on Gaza, but according to Secretary of State Blinken, the Israeli military has not been as effective as expected. However, he also referred to the benefits of Gaza when it is lifted from Hamas's control, suggesting that Israel may take advantage of this "mistake" to completely destroy Hamas and destroy tunnels, making Gaza completely unthreatening.
So how big are the underground tunnels in Gaza?According to the Middle East**, a huge network of tunnels has been formed underground throughout Gaza, with a total length of nearly 500 kilometers, which is indeed quite large. In comparison, the London Underground is also only 400 kilometers long, and most of it is above ground. If Israel forcibly floods the seawater, it will undoubtedly cause great damage. However, Hamas must have taken into account the issue of irrigation when building tunnels, and they should have countermeasures accordingly. Just as in "Tunnel Warfare" the people once developed a way to deal with the flooding of the Japanese invaders, in today's high-tech age, there will only be more ways to deal with it. Therefore, the Israeli army flooding the tunnels with seawater may not play much more than show their madness.
In summary, Israel's action in the Gaza Strip to flood Hamas tunnels with seawater has raised widespread concern. Although the Israeli Ministry of Defense did not comment on this, the complexity of this operation went far beyond what the United States ** said. The release of the hostages is crucial for Israel, but at the same time, Israel's seawater flooding threatens to cut off the hostages' lives. Gaza's network of underground tunnels is enormous, and Hamas may have anticipated the possibility of irrigation when it built the tunnels. Ultimately, I would like to point out that the devastation caused by this conflict has caused countless deaths and suffering. We hope that a way to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be found as soon as possible in order to promote the achievement of peace and stability.