The destruction of the tunnel in Shejaiya
(IDF)
The IDF on Tuesday released video showing the destruction of a 6 kilometer-long (3.7 mile) Hamas tunnel system in Gaza's Shijaiyah neighborhood. Troops located tunnel shafts and significant tunnel routes. The soldiers continue to examine and dismantle the remaining tunnels in the area.
During their inspections, the Yahalom Unit discovered a complex underground tunnel system, featuring branched tunnels with hideouts and command centers. In one of these tunnels, they found additional weapons and intelligence documents.
For more than a week, the Paratroopers Brigade, the 7th Brigade, and the Yahalom Unit have been engaged in intense combat operations in the Shijaiyah area under the command of the 98th Division.
The soldiers fought close-quarters combat with terrorist cells, eliminating more than 150 terrorists and dismantling extensive terrorist infrastructure, the military said. They encountered and destroyed booby-trapped buildings and explosives and recovered dozens of weapons and intelligence documents left behind by the terrorists.
Troops also found the Islamic Jihad's "flagship tunnel" in the neighborhood, spanning 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles). This tunnel contained numerous command and control posts, allowing local terror battalion commanders—known for their strength and as a front-line force against Israel—to survive. The IDF believed that three more underground tunnels would be discovered in the Shijaiyah neighborhood in the coming days.
The raid on the neighborhood began 12 days ago with a rapid ground and air assault on the local Hamas battalion headquarters. This headquarters had been rebuilt since the IDF completed its previous maneuver in Shijaiyah about six months ago. It was established in the western part of the neighborhood, deep within Gaza City, inside a shelter housing approximately 1,000 Gazans. Among them were 150 terrorists, most of whom fled upon the arrival of the forces.