Unveiling Israel’s Intense Subterranean Confrontation with Hamas

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The writer is assistant professor at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Reichman University

Israel woke up to a shocking reality last weekend, one that many thought was impossible: brutal attacks by Hamas on its most vulnerable population. These attacks added to the already painful conflict with the Palestinians. Now, with air strikes, warnings for Gaza civilians to evacuate, and preparations for a ground offensive against Hamas militants underway, Israel faces a significant challenge. It must figure out how to dismantle an entrenched and resourceful enemy that operates primarily underground.

Hamas, embedded within Gaza’s civilian population, is an army built for urban warfare. When it fires rockets into Israel, it deliberately targets civilian infrastructure such as schools, mosques, and residential neighborhoods. The group’s main command-and-control center is believed to be located beneath Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, and it has a vast network of underground tunnels running throughout the Gaza Strip. Hamas utilizes non-electronic communication lines. Attacking any of these assets inevitably results in significant collateral damage and a tremendous humanitarian cost.

The challenges posed by Hamas are not unprecedented. The US faced similar dilemmas when battling Iraqi militants in Fallujah, and Israel itself has encountered Hamas on multiple occasions since withdrawing from the Gaza Strip in 2005. However, the combination of urban warfare in densely-populated towns and refugee camps, coupled with extensive underground tunnel networks, creates a uniquely complex battlefield.

Israel’s strategy has changed for this operation. In previous conflicts, ceasefires were reached after days or weeks of air strikes and limited ground incursions, with terms generally favoring Israel. While significant blows were inflicted, Hamas retained most of its military infrastructure underground. This time, Israel seeks total victory and the complete destruction of Hamas as a military threat.

However, Hamas will have spent months, if not years, preparing for an IDF ground incursion in response to its atrocities. The group has learned from the experiences of terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq, including Isis, as well as its own past battles. It knows how to navigate sustained combat in underground terrain, giving it a significant advantage.

The obstacles presented by fighting in and around tunnels cannot be overstated. The IDF has limited intelligence on tunnel locations, routes, and activities. Traditional GPS, surveillance, and night vision systems do not work underground. Tunnels increase the risks of surprise attacks, kidnapping, booby traps, and close-quarter combat. Operating in this claustrophobic, dark, and volatile environment is challenging for soldiers. In essence, the tunnels neutralize Israel’s advantages in weaponry, tactics, technology, and organization, as painfully learned during the 2014 operation Protective Edge.

In order to degrade Hamas’s underground infrastructure, Israel would need to engage in a prolonged and extensive air and ground operation. This would involve collapsing, flooding, exploding, and sealing the tunnels, bunkers, and bases spread across Gaza’s 365 square kilometers. Such an endeavor would require significant resources and sustained operational supremacy, all while facing attacks from Hamas operatives leveraging their strategic advantage underground. Even in this scenario, it is unlikely that the entire tunnel network would be completely destroyed.

A more realistic approach for Israel would be to adjust its objectives over time, focusing on more achievable goals while maintaining domestic and international support. It can degrade Hamas’s military and political leadership in ways that were not possible in previous conflicts and enhance its defensive capabilities. Crucially, Israel must strengthen its measures to prevent future surprise attacks.