Israel discovers 'biggest Hamas tunnel' in Gaza
Big enough to drive a large vehicle through, tunnels like this are 'one of the main reasons why war is still going on'

Israeli forces claim to have discovered the "biggest Hamas tunnel" in Gaza.
Two and a half miles long and 50 metres below street level, the tunnel is wide enough to drive a large vehicle through, and is equipped with electricity, ventilation and communications systems. It ends just 400 metres from the Erez border crossing with Israel in northern Gaza, one of the key points that Hamas targeted during its deadly surprise attack on Israel on 7 October.
The tunnel will have cost millions of dollars and taken years to construct, said The Times, and was the "personal project" of Hamas's operations chief in northern Gaza, Mahmoud Sinwar, younger brother of Hamas's leader in Gaza, Yihya Sinwar.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is now preparing to demolish the tunnel, which was discovered after the invasion of Gaza, with the help of captured Hamas documents and videos, and is said to have been part of the militant group's "strategic infrastructure".
Hamas has claimed to have built more than 300 miles of tunnels under Gaza, "though it is unclear if that figure was accurate", reported CNN.
Nicknamed the "Gaza metro", the tunnels under the coastal enclave are used to "smuggle goods from Egypt, launch attacks into Israel, store rockets and ammunition caches and house Hamas command and control centers", said the news site.
The tunnels are "one of the main reasons why the war is still going on", said The Times, as the IDF, "one of the world's most advanced militaries… has been sucked into an underground battle of dimensions that are unprecedented in the history of warfare".
Of the 1,300 tunnels identified by the Modern War Institute at the US military academy West Point, the Israeli army claimed at the beginning of December to have discovered more than 800 and destroyed 500 of these.
The Guardian has reported that the army was "considering flooding the tunnels with seawater pumped from the Mediterranean" and had "conducted successful tests".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Holy mate-trimony: the rise of 'friendship marriages'
Under the Radar Young people in China, Japan and the US are saying 'I do' to platonic unions, to alleviate social pressure or loneliness and access financial benefits
-
Deportations ensnare migrant families, U.S. citizens
Feature Trump's deportation crackdown is sweeping up more than just immigrants as ICE targets citizens, judges and nursing mothers
-
Trump shrugs off warnings over trade war costs
Feature Trump's tariffs are spiraling the U.S. toward an economic crisis as shipments slow down—and China doesn't plan to back down
-
Israeli air strikes in Gaza: why has ceasefire collapsed?
Today's Big Question Start of 'broader and more sustained military operation' denounced by domestic groups representing hostage families
-
Is Gaza ceasefire deal about to fizzle out?
Today's Big Question Israel and Hamas accuse each other of deliberately breaking first phase of the fragile truce, which is set to expire on Saturday
-
Is Donald Trump behind potential Gaza ceasefire and will it work?
Today's Big Question Israel and Hamas are 'on the brink' of a peace deal and a hostage exchange, for which the incoming president may take credit
-
Russia and Iran 'up the ante' after meeting in Turkmenistan
The Explainer Two nations talk up their closer ties but some in Tehran believe Putin 'still owes' them
-
Israel's wars: is an end in sight – or is this just the beginning?
Today's Big Question Lack of wider strategic vision points to 'sustained low-intensity war' on multiple fronts
-
How the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war set the stage for 2024
Both sides have been planning for the possibility of another conflict since the devastating month-long war 18 years ago
-
Middle East crisis: is there really a diplomatic path forward?
Today's Big Question Recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah might have dented US influence in the conflict
-
The African asylum seekers fighting for Israel in Gaza
Under the Radar 'Quid pro quo' recruitment offer condemned as unethical as Israel seeks to address shortage of soldiers