An Israeli army officer gives explanations to journalists during an army organised tour in a tunnel (Photo: Reuters)
Photo: Associated Press
"Hamas has been building underground infrastructure for years. There's an underground Gaza – this isn't a slogan, but rather the plain truth. Our units have come across it and in every day of our combat we manage to damage this infrastructure.
Israeli army officers talk at the entrance of a tunnel (Photo: Reuters)
In general, the tunnel issue is defined in Gaza as a national flagship project. It includes three types of tunnels: The smuggling tunnels on the Philadelphi Route in Rafah, the offensive tunnels along the border fence with Israel, and the strategic tunnels inside the Gaza Strip which are meant to be used mainly for mobilizing forces between areas at times of emergency, but
Photo: Associated Press
Entrance of a tunnel said to be used by Palestinian militants for cross-border attacks (Photo: Reuters)
The Gaza tunnel project is organized, calculated and does not leave any room for piracy. It is coordinated between all the factions' military wings and includes the registration of all the tunnels in the Strip, including the tunnels' routes, the ways to enter them and the destination according to which they are mapped.
The tunnels are divided into four districts: The northern Strip, Gaza city, the central Strip and the southern Strip. There is one person in charge of each district in coordination with the other districts, and only one person in charge of each tunnel. In order to maintain the secrecy, his name and the tunnel's route are kept confidential. The diggers and the person in charge of the district are the only ones familiar with the details.
Photo: AFP
Each military wing in the Strip is permitted to dig a tunnel only after coordinating the activity with the person in charge of the district. An average dig takes about four months. Most of the tunnels are dug by hand during the night, and each tunnel is accurately calculated.
Photo: EPA
The factions have defined every part of the Strip as eligible for a tunnel for military purposes. When a tunnel is dug near the border fence, those responsible for it notify the land owner, subject to security coordination, and stress the structural separation:
