{"id":17337,"date":"2025-05-13T07:57:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T07:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/?p=17337"},"modified":"2025-05-13T07:57:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T07:57:49","slug":"israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/13\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s Underground War in Gaza: Ex-Prisoners Expose the Myth of Tunnel Destruction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Watan<\/strong><\/em>-Despite repeated Israeli claims about destroying Hamas\u2019s tunnel network in Gaza, field testimonies tell a very different story. In a notable development, the Israeli army leadership has turned to former prisoners who were once held in Hamas tunnels within Gaza, in a desperate attempt to unravel the mysteries of this &#8220;underground world&#8221; that has drained Israel both militarily and psychologically.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1105\" data-end=\"1491\">These former soldiers, who recently met with Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, shared detailed accounts of their experiences underground. One striking detail: they often heard Hebrew voices and Israeli military communications directly above them \u2014 indicating that the Israeli army was operating right over their detention sites without realizing vital tunnels lay beneath their feet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1493\" data-end=\"1881\">The sounds of tanks and explosions never ceased, yet the resistance forces operated silently, expanding their networks and constantly rebuilding what was destroyed. This has been confirmed by Israeli generals, who admitted that only about a quarter of the tunnel system has been destroyed. They warned that Hamas is constructing new tunnels using more sophisticated and concealed methods.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"rtl\" lang=\"ar\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u062d\u0645\u0627\u0633<\/a> \u062a\u0641\u0627\u062c\u0626 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0625\u0633\u0631\u0627\u0626\u064a\u0644<\/a> \u0628\u0645\u0627 \u0641\u0639\u0644\u062a\u0647 \u0641\u064a \u0623\u0646\u0641\u0627\u0642 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u063a\u0632\u0629<\/a>.. \u0627\u0644\u0627\u062d\u062a\u0644\u0627\u0644 \u064a\u0644\u0647\u062b \u0648\u0631\u0627\u0621 \u0645\u0639\u0644\u0648\u0645\u0627\u062a \u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0633\u0631\u0649 \u0633\u0627\u0628\u0642\u064a\u0646 \u0648\u0645\u0627 \u0643\u0634\u0641\u0648\u0647 \u062c\u0627\u0621 \u0635\u0627\u062f\u0645\u064b\u0627 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bLwEHg6Aoc\">pic.twitter.com\/bLwEHg6Aoc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u0648\u0637\u0646. \u064a\u063a\u0631\u062f \u062e\u0627\u0631\u062c \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0631\u0628 (@watanserb_news) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/watanserb_news\/status\/1921939733153722578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1883\" data-end=\"2163\">According to Hebrew media reports, Hamas fighters are emerging from the tunnels to carry out swift attacks \u2014 planting explosives or launching anti-tank missiles \u2014 before disappearing back underground. This guerrilla-style tactic has proven nearly impossible for Israel to contain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2165\" data-end=\"2377\">Israel, which once relied heavily on satellite imagery and drones, now finds itself dependent on the accounts of soldiers returning from captivity, having failed to technically map all tunnel entrances and exits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2379\" data-end=\"2720\">The outcome? A fierce underground war still in full force, exposing a severe Israeli intelligence failure in grasping the depth of Hamas\u2019s capabilities. These testimonies not only reveal the Israeli army\u2019s vulnerabilities but also affirm that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2024\/01\/28\/challenges-and-tactics-unveiling-the-resilience-of-hamas-tunnels-in-gaza\/\">tunnels<\/a> are not merely escape routes \u2014 they are a full-fledged, around-the-clock combat front.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watan-Despite repeated Israeli claims about destroying Hamas\u2019s tunnel network in Gaza, field testimonies tell a very different story. In a notable development, the Israeli army leadership has turned to former prisoners who were once held in Hamas tunnels within Gaza, in a desperate attempt to unravel the mysteries of this &#8220;underground world&#8221; that has drained &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[639,644,167,985,1664],"class_list":["post-17337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-gaza","tag-hamas","tag-israel","tag-israeli-soldier","tag-tunnel"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Israel\u2019s Underground War in Gaza: Ex-Prisoners Expose the Myth of Tunnel Destruction - Watan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"freed Israeli soldiers held in Hamas tunnels challenge official claims of destruction. 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The testimonies expose a hidden underground war\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/05\/13\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Watan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watanserbusa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/923270471088402\/user\/100074635500826\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-13T07:57:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-13T07:57:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Gaza-tunnels.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Salim Hanafi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SKkhatib1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@watanserb_news\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Salim Hanafi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/13\\\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/13\\\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Salim Hanafi\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8a7cc360946c1ad763b476206c17e4e\"},\"headline\":\"Israel\u2019s Underground War in Gaza: Ex-Prisoners Expose the Myth of Tunnel Destruction\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-13T07:57:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-13T07:57:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/13\\\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":318,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/13\\\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/Gaza-tunnels.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gaza\",\"Hamas\",\"Israel\",\"Israeli soldier\",\"tunnel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/13\\\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/13\\\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\\\/\",\"name\":\"Israel\u2019s Underground War in Gaza: Ex-Prisoners Expose the Myth of Tunnel Destruction - Watan\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/13\\\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/13\\\/israels-underground-war-in-gaza-ex-prisoners-expose-the-myth-of-tunnel-destruction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.watanserb.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/Gaza-tunnels.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-13T07:57:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-13T07:57:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"freed Israeli soldiers held in Hamas tunnels challenge official claims of destruction. 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