Israeli Forces Raze 50 Terror Tunnels in Southern Gaza

Latest Developments

Israeli troops in Gaza have razed more than 50 tunnels used by Hamas terrorists during the past week, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on August 15. IDF combat engineers located and demolished the tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the Egyptian border with southern Gaza. The IDF has been operating in the Philadelphi Corridor since early May when it launched an operation to clear Hamas terrorists from the area, which has been used by the Iran-backed terrorist organization to smuggle weapons into Gaza. The IDF has eliminated hundreds of terrorists in operations in Rafah and its environs near the Egyptian border.

Expert Analysis

“Hamas continues to maintain tunnels, weapons storage caches, arsenals of rockets, and explosives in Gaza. Although the Iran-backed terrorist group has suffered significant losses over 10 months of fighting, it is constantly attempting to return to booby-trapping buildings to harm counter-terror operations while posing an ongoing threat to Israel.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow

“Israel has gained critical insights from this 10-month war. One key lesson concerns the need to prioritize Israel’s own security, particularly when collaborating with other nations. The IDF’s discovery of cross-border tunnels connecting the Egyptian Sinai to Gaza has underscored this realization. Now, Israel and Egypt must engage in an open and candid dialogue about their future cooperation and how to prevent Hamas from rebuilding its tunnel network into Egyptian territory.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

IDF Operates Against Booby-Trapped Buildings and Terror Infrastructure

In recent days, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and IDF ground troops have conducted several operations targeting terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, the IDF said on August 15. This included finding and dismantling booby-trapped structures and smuggling tunnels as well as uncovering a weapons storage facility. “Additionally, in Khan Yunis, IDF soldiers, together with IAF forces, targeted and eliminated several terrorists who operated weapons facilities associated with Hamas,” The Jerusalem Post reported. The dismantling of terror infrastructure comes amid continued military setbacks for Hamas.

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