Jerusalem, 30 Jan (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military issued a press release on 30 January, saying that the Israeli army used flooded tunnels in its military operations in the Gaza Strip to force Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) fighters to show up.
During the military operation in the Gaza Strip, the IDF "destroyed the underground infrastructure of the Gaza Strip" by installing pumps and pipes to channel large quantities of seawater into tunnels, the report said. The technology is a "major engineering and technological breakthrough" to counter threats from underground infrastructure, the report said.
This is the first time that the Israeli army has officially acknowledged the use of flooded tunnels in military operations. The US "Wall Street**" revealed on December 4 last year that Israel is considering flooding underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater in order to force Hamas personnel who may be hiding in the tunnels to show up. This news quickly aroused widespread concern in the international community. UN hydrologists and environmental experts have warned that injecting seawater into tunnels could damage the Gaza Strip's drinking water and local agriculture.
According to Israeli data, Hamas has excavated tunnels in the Gaza Strip with a total length of about 560 to 725 kilometers. Israel accuses Hamas of launching attacks on Israel from these tunnels and of hiding the detained Israelis in the tunnels.
The U.S. "Wall Street**" reported on the 28th, citing Israel and the United States**, that so far, it is estimated that 20% to 40% of the Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or have become unusable.