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Hamas’ Tunnel Network: A Massacre in the Making

Hamas’ Tunnel Network: A Massacre in the Making

Daniel Rubenstein
Hamas tunnels open just meters away from the center of Israeli communities near the Gaza border. (IDF/Facebook)
Hamas tunnels open just meters away from the center of Israeli communities near the Gaza border. (IDF/Facebook)

In the past decade, Hamas methodically built a sophisticated network of tunnels that would enable its fighters to infiltrate Israel and carry out terrorist attacks and abductions on an unprecedented scale. Operation Protective Edge exposed and targeted this tunnel network, eliminating one of Hamas’ strategic assets and preventing a devastating surprise attack on a wide front, behind Israel’s front lines.

IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner explained why the destruction of the tunnels was so important. “Hamas had a plan. A simultaneous, coordinated, surprise attack within Israel. They planned to send 200 terrorists armed to the teeth toward civilian populations. This was going to be a coordinated attack. The concept of operations involved 14 offensive tunnels into Israel. With at least 10 men in each tunnel, they would infiltrate and inflict mass casualties.”1

What cannot be ruled out is the possibility that Hamas would be able to utilize the tunnel network to dispatch hundreds of men through each tunnel, thereby creating an invasion force of thousands. As Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh himself said on October 19, 2013: “Thousands of fighters above ground and thousands of fighters underground have been preparing in silence for the campaign to liberate Palestine.”

Hamas squads of 10-15 men are trained to move rapidly through the tunnels to establish beachheads, with more squads following in their wake. The number of squads that can infiltrate Israel is limited only by the amount of time it takes the IDF to detect them and respond. (MEMRI)

What cannot be ruled out is the possibility that Hamas would be able to utilize the tunnel network to dispatch hundreds of men through each tunnel, thereby creating an invasion force of thousands.

Early Warnings

Tunnels have been a part of life in Gaza for decades. In 1989, Hamas terror mastermind Mahmoud Al-Mahbrouh used one to evade Israeli security forces.2 By the mid-1990s, tunnels were being dug from Rafah into Egypt; they were used to smuggle anything that could fit in the narrow passages, from cigarettes and guns to fuel, farm animals, and even cars.

Tunnels were used to plant explosives underneath IDF positions, targeting Israeli soldiers who were stationed in Gaza until 2005. In 2001, a powerful bomb was detonated in a tunnel under an IDF base in Gaza; the blast blew out a 15-foot section of the first-floor wall and heaved soldiers through the air, injuring at least three.3 In 2004, hundreds of kilograms of explosives inside a 350-meter tunnel were detonated under an IDF outpost in Gaza, killing one soldier and injuring five others.4

In June 2006, less than a year after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas used a tunnel to sneak into Israel, ambush IDF soldiers, and kidnap Gilad Shalit.5 In doing so, Hamas revealed that it had invested vast sums of money to prepare for subterranean warfare. “This was one of the most asymmetrical incidents in recent memory,” a senior Israeli intelligence official recalled. “One Israeli soldier was held for five and a half years and traded [in 2011] for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.” Another top official agreed: “This was a proof of concept for them. Tunnels work.”6

Years later, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal explained his group’s thinking: “In light of the balance of power which shifted towards Israel, we had to be creative in finding innovative ways. The tunnels were one of our innovations. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.”7

Hamas looked to Hizbullah in Lebanon for inspiration and guidance on subterranean warfare.8 “Hizbullah thought of building an underground terror network well before Hamas started its own, and it taught Hamas how to construct these tunnels,” a senior IDF officer said.9 In addition, Israeli military commanders believe that North Korea, which has one of the world’s most sophisticated networks of tunnels running beneath the demilitarized zone with South Korea, gave Hamas advice on building tunnels in Gaza.10

Hamas terror tunnel in Gaza, July 20, 2014
The opening of one of Hamas’ many tunnels in the Gaza Strip. This photo was taken by an IDF soldier in Gaza on July 20, 2014. (IDF/Flickr)

After a round of fighting in January 2009 between Israel and Hamas known as Operation Cast Lead, the American Consul in Jerusalem, Jake Walles, sent a diplomatic cable in February discussing the growing threat from Hamas’ tunnels project. The cable, addressed to the Secretary of State, summarized the consul’s conversation with Saji al-Moughani, a Gaza local who worked as a Reconnaissance and Survey Officer for the State Department.11 Al-Moughani reported that no reconstruction materials were available because “much of Gaza’s cement was used to construct tunnels….[Al-Moughani] said the tunnels are lit and well-ventilated. Most are more than 30 feet underground, on the Gaza side, largely insulated from the effects of Israeli bombardment. Many tunnels have ceilings high enough to allow a grown man to stand.”12

More Revelations

In 2012, more hints of Hamas’ massive investment in tunnels became visible. On November 8, IDF soldiers conducting a routine patrol along the Gaza border near the town of Nirim found a tunnel four meters deep and almost five meters wide burrowed beneath the border. The patrol crossed into Gaza to search for explosives and, on its return, while repairing the border fence, a bomb detonated on the Gaza side of the border. One soldier was injured and an IDF jeep was thrown 20 meters by the blast.13

In November 2012, Hamas also accelerated its rocket attacks against Israeli communities, an escalation that culminated with the IDF’s pinpoint strike on Hamas chief-of-staff Ahmed Jabari and the eight-day Operation Pillar of Defense.14 In that operation, the IDF said it targeted over 120 tunnels used for fighting and smuggling.15 Nonetheless, most of the focus of the IDF and the Israeli public at that time was on Hamas’ rocket launching capabilities, as well as the impressive successes of the Iron Dome missile defense system. After the round of fighting ended, Hamas realized it had failed to inflict significant damage on Israeli population centers and decided to expand its offensive tunnel capabilities.16

Two months later, on January 14, 2013, Israel received another wake-up call when the IDF discovered a tunnel inside Israel near Nir Oz, a kibbutz on the Gaza border. The underground passage was big enough to transfer people and was the same kind of tunnel used in 2006 to kidnap Gilad Shalit.17 “Such a tunnel in Israel indicates a clear intent by Gaza terrorist groups, led by Hamas, to attack Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” the IDF said.18

“These tunnels inaugurate a new strategy to fight against the enemy,” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on March 23, 2014. (IDF/YouTube)

On October 7, 2013, the IDF uncovered a mega-tunnel from Gaza into Israel that was 18 meters underground and extended for 1.8 kilometers. The tunnel, which opened near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, had taken two years to build and required 800 tons of concrete shaped into 25,000 concrete slabs.19 It was equipped with electricity and contained enough cookies, yogurt and other provisions to sustain its occupants for several months. Israel estimated that Hamas had invested $10 million in the project. Its discovery made clear that Hamas was building a tunnel network to infiltrate Israel on a massive and unprecedented scale.

Hamas terror tunnel discovered near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha on October 7, 2013

Indeed, after the discovery of the tunnel near Ein Hashlosha, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz said that Israel’s next war could start with an infiltration via a tunnel and an attack against an Israeli border town or local kindergarten.20 Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon noted that the defense establishment’s “basic assumption is that terror groups in Gaza are constantly digging tunnels to use in terror attacks at the earliest opportunity.”21

During a visit to Gaza in October 2013, shortly after the tunnel was revealed, a Palestinian writer for the Al-Monitor website visited the area near the tunnel’s route and learned from Palestinian military sources that the underground passage was one of Hamas’ largest military projects in recent years, and was part of a long-term strategic plan for offensive military operations.22

The Al-Monitor reporter was shown a document that had been distributed to terrorist groups in Gaza, which said: “The tunnel war is one of the most important and most dangerous military tactics in the face of the Israeli army because it features a qualitative and strategic dimension, because of its human and moral effects, and because of its serious threat and unprecedented challenge to the Israeli military machine, which is heavily armed and follows security doctrines involving protection measures and preemption.”23

The document continued: “The tunnel tactic is dangerous because it doesn’t use traditional conditions and procedures for confrontation. [The tactic is] to surprise the enemy and strike it a deadly blow that doesn’t allow a chance for survival or escape or allow him a chance to confront and defend itself. [The tactic] relies on the calm work of digging an underground tunnel by simple means and equipment and working without making noise, according to pre-prepared geographic coordinates, and without appearing on the ground’s surface.”

The document explained that the tunnels would play a major role in battle and cited how U.S. forces in Vietnam failed to address the challenge of the tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.

The concept behind the tunnels was best explained at the time by Yahya al-Sinwar, a member of Hamas’ inner circle and a co-founder of the Hamas military: “Today, we are the ones who invade the Israelis. They do not invade us.”24

“Today, we are the ones who invade the Israelis. They do not invade us.” – Hamas co-founder Yahya Sinwar

Alarms

On March 5, 2014, the Israeli Navy intercepted the Klos-C cargo ship carrying Iranian weapons almost certainly destined for Gaza.25 The Israeli government displayed the weapons for the world’s media to see,26 but the ship also carried another strategic commodity – more than two million kilograms of Iranian cement in 100 shipping containers.27

Missiles (above) and cement for tunnel construction (below) from Iran on the Klos-C ship, intercepted by the IDF on March 5, 2014. (IDF/Flickr)
Missiles (above) and cement for tunnel construction (below) from Iran on the Klos-C ship, intercepted by the IDF on March 5, 2014. (IDF/Flickr)
The Klos-C manifest, captured by the IDF, proves that the weapons and cement came from Iran. (Benjamin Netanyahu/Facebook)
The Klos-C manifest, captured by the IDF, proves that the weapons and cement came from Iran. (Benjamin Netanyahu/Facebook)

On March 18, 2014, another massive tunnel was uncovered.28 The tunnel penetrated a kilometer beyond the border fence, perilously close to the perimeter of Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha. The tunnel was fully wired with electric lines and communications cables. At some two meters high and one meter wide, a fighter carrying weapons and equipment could run through it with ease.29 Based on the size and sophistication of the tunnel, it was clear to the IDF that Hamas had intended to use the underground passage to send a “large armed force” into Israel to carry out kidnappings and/or terror attacks. The IDF believed more such tunnels were being dug under the border.

Infiltrations

The next time a tunnel was discovered in Israeli territory, Hamas fighters were streaming out of it. On July 17, 2014, nine days into Operation Protective Edge – which at the time had remained an air campaign – the IDF identified around 13 Palestinians who had infiltrated Israel through a tunnel near Kibbutz Sufa.30 The terrorists were heavily armed with RPGs and assault rifles and were prepared to carry out a massacre.31 The IDF foiled the attack, saving countless Israeli lives. “The incident at Sufa made the penny drop for us,” Lt. Gen. Gantz later explained.32

A Hamas terror squad infiltrates Israel through a tunnel near Kibbutz Sufa on July 17, 2014. (IDF/YouTube)

That same evening, the IDF began a ground operation in Gaza. “Their mission is to target Hamas’ tunnels that cross under the Israel-Gaza border and enable terrorists to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks,” the IDF said in a statement. “Such a goal requires intensive and precise operations inside Gaza. Hamas terrorists are operating underground, and that is where the IDF will meet them. The IDF intends to impair Hamas’ capability to attack Israel.”33

Before the IDF completed its ground operation, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel via tunnels at least four more times. On July 19, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel in three separate incidents. In the first attack, eight Hamas terrorists emerged from a tunnel 300 yards inside Israel wearing IDF uniforms. They fired an RPG at an IDF jeep, killing two IDF officers. One of the infiltrators was killed by return fire, while the rest retreated underground, back to Gaza.34 Hours later, two more Hamas fighters entered Israel, either through a tunnel or by breaching the border fence. The men were carrying tranquilizers and handcuffs. One was shot and killed; the other died when the explosive belt he was wearing detonated. That night, another Hamas gunman slipped through a different tunnel into Israeli territory and fired on IDF troops, who killed him.35

On July 21, two Hamas squads entered Israel from northern Gaza via a tunnel. They were identified by IDF lookouts and killed by IDF fire.36

Hamas terrorists infiltrate Israel via a tunnel near Sderot on July 21, 2014. (IDF/YouTube)

On July 28, Hamas fighters entered Israel undetected via a tunnel near Kibbutz Nahal Oz. They attacked an IDF post and killed five IDF soldiers.37 Hamas later published a video of the attack. Four of the five terrorists returned to Gaza, while one was killed trying to kidnap the body of a soldier.38


A Hamas video published on YouTube shows its fighters infiltrating Israel from Gaza via a tunnel and storming an IDF post at Nahal Oz on July 28, 2014.

On August 1, an hour and a half into a U.S.- and UN-backed ceasefire, Hamas terrorists emerged from a tunnel in Rafah and a suicide bomber detonated himself near IDF soldiers. In the ensuing gun battle, Lt. Hadar Goldin was kidnapped, sparking a massive IDF assault on the area.39 (Goldin was later declared dead.) The IDF discovered that the same tunnel used in the Rafah attack also surfaced some two kilometers inside Israel.40

Massacre Averted

Hamas’ deadly ambushes in Rafah, Nahal Oz, and elsewhere reinforced the Israeli government’s refusal to accept a ceasefire that did not allow the IDF to destroy the tunnels. The Israeli public could not live with the thought that Hamas could emerge from under their homes at any time. In one of the tunnels, the IDF found motorcycles that could have enabled Hamas to commit large-scale terrorist attacks deep inside Israel, many kilometers from the Gaza border, and/or return quickly to Gaza with hostages.41

These motorcycles were found in a Hamas terror tunnel inside Israel on August 3, 2014. Hamas terrorists could have used them to infiltrate deeply into Israel and quickly return to Gaza with hostages. (IDF/Flickr)
These motorcycles were found in a Hamas terror tunnel inside Israel on August 3, 2014. Hamas terrorists could have used them to infiltrate deeply into Israel and quickly return to Gaza with hostages. (IDF/Flickr)

An IDF engineering officer involved in locating the tunnels explained the threat: “These were wide tunnels, with internal communication systems that had been dug deep beneath the surface and the sides were reinforced with layers of concrete. You could walk upright in them without any difficulty. That’s the stage at which we understood it was no longer a matter of a localized tactical threat to IDF forces along the fence, but rather part of something bigger and more dangerous. Suddenly, you’re envisioning an attack planned deep into our territory – 300 meters or more. You go into a tunnel and realize it hadn’t been planned for capturing a soldier from near the fence, but rather was able, in a short time, to bring a sizable enemy force onto our home front and attack there.”42

Before the war, Hamas employed almost 900 tunnel diggers, working around the clock in two or three shifts, according to a senior Israeli officer. The IDF discovered 100 km. of tunnels in Gaza, one-third of which stretched under Israeli territory.43

The IDF continued its ground operation in Gaza until Hamas’ tunnel network was eliminated. Between July 17 and August 5, IDF forces neutralized 32 terror tunnels.44 During that time, Hamas reportedly executed dozens of tunnel workers, fearing they might reveal the tunnel locations to Israel.45

IDF forces operate in Gaza to find and destroy Hamas' terror tunnels, July 20, 2014. (IDF/Flickr)
IDF forces operate in Gaza to find and destroy Hamas’ terror tunnels, July 20, 2014. (IDF/Flickr)

Soon after the conflict ended, Hamas announced that it was rebuilding its tunnel network. As one spokesman put it: “Our men will begin the next battle with their feet on the ground in Nahal Oz…and the other settlements around Gaza.”46

* * *

Notes

1 Adam Ciralsky, “Did Israel Avert a Hamas Massacre?” Vanity Fair, October 21, 2014, http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2014/10/gaza-tunnel-plot-israeli-intelligence

2 Felice Friedson, “Israel Shocked by Scope of Hamas Tunnels in Gaza, But Locating Them Still a Challenge,” Media Line-National Post, August 12, 2014, http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/08/israel-shocked-by-scope-of-hamas-tunnels-in-gaza-but-locating-them-still-a-challenge/

3 James Bennet, “Arab Soldiers in the Israeli Army Find They Are Always on Guard,” New York Times, December 19, 2001, http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/19/world/arab-soldiers-in-the-israeli-army-find-they-are-always-on-guard.html

4 “Gaza Blast Kills Israeli Soldier,” BBC News, June 28, 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3845069.stm

5 Steven Erlanger, “Israelis Warn of Military Response to Gaza Attack,” New York Times, June 25, 2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/world/middleeast/26mideastcnd.html

6 “Did Israel Avert a Hamas Massacre?” http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2014/10/gaza-tunnel-plot-israeli-intelligence

7 Ibid., http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2014/10/gaza-tunnel-plot-israeli-intelligence

8 Christa Case Bryant, “Why Hamas Is a More Formidable Foe in Gaza This Time,” Christian Science Monitor, July 25, 2014, http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0725/Why-Hamas-is-a-more-formidable-foe-in-Gaza-this-time

9 “After Gaza, New Security Challenges on the Northern Front,” IDF Blog, September 18, 2014, http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/09/18/gaza-new-security-challenges-northern-front/

10 Con Coughlin, “Hamas and North Korea in Secret Arms Deal,” Telegraph (UK), July 26, 2014, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/10992921/Hamas-and-North-Korea-in-secret-arms-deal.html

11 Consul General Jake Walles, “Impressions from Gaza-Based LES,” Wikileaks, February 24, 2009, http://www.wikileaks.org/cable/2009/02/09JERUSALEM317.html

12 Ibid., http://www.wikileaks.org/cable/2009/02/09JERUSALEM317.html

13 Ilan Ben Zion, “IDF Ground Forces Briefly Enter Gaza after Finding Tunnel Packed with Explosives,” Times of Israel, November 8, 2012, http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-ground-forces-enter-gaza-to-find-explosives-planted-along-border/

14 “Video: IDF Pinpoint Strike on Ahmed Jabari, Head of Hamas Military Wing,” Israel Defense Forces, November 14, 2012, http://youtu.be/P6U2ZQ0EhN4

15 “Fact: Over 120 Tunnels, Used Both for Fighting and for Smuggling, Were Targeted in the Operation,” Israel Defense Forces, November 21, 2012, https://twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson/status/271465292222304256

16 Eado Hecht, “Gaza: How Hamas Tunnel Network Grew,” BBC News, July 22, 2014, 
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28430298

17 Michal Shmulovich, “Large Terror Tunnel from Gaza Discovered near Kibbutz,” Times of Israel, January 15, 2013, http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-large-terror-tunnel-from-gaza-discovered-near-kibbutz/

18 Ibid., http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-large-terror-tunnel-from-gaza-discovered-near-kibbutz/

19 Gili Cohen, “Leak Leads to Discovery of Mega-Tunnel from Gaza to Israel,” Ha’aretz, October 13, 2013, http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/.premium-1.552162; “Video: IDF Uncovers Hamas Terror Tunnel near Gaza Border,” Israel Defense Forces, October 21, 2013, http://youtu.be/E4-WlTG20Bo

20 “Gaza ‘Mega Tunnel’ Uncovered near Border Kibbutz,” Israel Hayom, October 13, 2014, http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12537; “Video: Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz – The IDF in 2025,” BESA Center-Bar-Ilan University, November 4, 2013, http://youtu.be/vPAEkk5LOXc

21 “Gaza ‘Mega Tunnel’ Uncovered,” http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12537

22 Adnan Abu Amer, “Tunnel May Signal Shift In Hamas-Israel Conflict,” Al-Monitor, October 22, 2013, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/gaza-tunnel-israel-shift-hamas-war.html

23 Ibid., http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/gaza-tunnel-israel-shift-hamas-war.html

24 Ibid., http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/gaza-tunnel-israel-shift-hamas-war.html

25 “Video: IDF Soldiers Board the Klos-C,” Israel Defense Forces, March 6, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4RoPWgxXZI

26 Mitch Ginsburg, “Israel Puts Cache from Seized Arms Ship on Show,” Times of Israel, March 10, 2014, http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-to-show-off-cache-from-seized-arms-ship/

27 Benjamin Netanyahu, “The Proof that Iran Is Responsible for the Arms Ship,” Facebook, March 10, 2014, https://www.facebook.com/Netanyahu/photos/a.10151989920672076.1073741857.268108602075/
10151989920902076/?type=3&theater

28 Joshua Davidovich, “IDF Says It Exposed Massive Gazan ‘Terror Tunnel’,” Times of Israel, March 21, 2014, http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-it-exposed-massive-gazan-terror-tunnel/

29 Barbara Opall-Rome, “Gaza Tunnel Threat More Severe Than Thought,” Defense News, October 11, 2014, http://www.defensenews.com/article/20141011/DEFREG/310110022/Essay-Gaza-Tunnel-Threat-More-Severe-Than-Thought

30 “Video: Footage of Hamas Terror Attack Being Thwarted,” Israel Defense Forces, July 17, 2014, http://youtu.be/SM6WUoel7xk

31 “Video: Tunnel and Weapons Used During Hamas Infiltration into Israel,” Israel Defense Forces, July 17, 2014, http://youtu.be/xjkwIMRZI8o

32 Amos Harel and Gili Cohen, “IDF Lacked Training, Equipment to Tackle Tunnels in Gaza War,” Ha’aretz, October 17, 2014,  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.621216

33 “The IDF’s Mission in Gaza: Destroy Hamas Terror Tunnels,” IDF Blog, July 17, 2014, http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/07/17/idf-begins-ground-operation-gaza/

34 Anne Barnard and Jodi Ruidoren, “Despite Israeli Push in Gaza, Hamas Fighters Slip Through Tunnels, New York Times, July 19, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/world/middleeast/gaza-israel.html?_r=0

35 Ibid., http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/world/middleeast/gaza-israel.html?_r=0

36 Yaakov Lappin, “10 Terrorists Killed Attempting to Infiltrate Israel through Tunnel,” Jerusalem Post, July 21, 2014, http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Hamas-terrorists-caught-killed-attempting-to-infiltrate-Kibbutz-Nir-Am-through-tunnel-364148

37 Yoav Zitun, “Five IDF Soldiers Killed in Terrorists’ Infiltration into Israel,” Ynet News, July 29, 2014, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4551516,00.html

38 “Video: Hamas Footage on the Infiltration via Tunnel to Nahal Oz Village, Israel,” YouTube, July 29, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9NNunTsO1c

39 Heather Saul, “Israeli Soldier ‘Captured in Tunnel Attack’ by Gaza Militants,” Independent (UK), August 1, 2014, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-soldier-feared-captured-in-tunnel-attack-by-militants-9642469.html

40 Yaakov Lappin, “IDF Unearths Tunnel that Stretched 2 Kilometers into Israel,” Jerusalem Post, August 2, 2014, http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Kidnapped-IDF-soldiers-unit-unearthed-tunnel-that-stretched-2-kilometers-into-Israel-369793

41 “We Found These Motorcycles in a Tunnel inside Israel. Hamas’ Plan? Abduct Israelis & Rush Back to Gaza with Hostages,” IDF Spokesperson, August 3, 2014, https://twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson/status/496001481724530688

42 “IDF Lacked Training, Equipment,” http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.621216

43 Private briefing, February 2015

44 “Operation Protective Edge by the Numbers,” Israel Defense Forces, August 5, 2014, http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/08/05/operation-protective-edge-numbers/

45 Marissa Newman, “Hamas Said to Have Executed Dozens of Tunnel Diggers,” Times of Israel, August 11, 2014, http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-said-to-have-executed-dozens-of-tunnel-diggers/

46 Tzvi Zucker, Hamas Admits Rebuilding Tunnel Network in Wake of Gaza Conflict,” Tazpit-Ynet News, October 20, 2014,  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4582032,00.html

Contents
The Gaza War 2014: The War Israel Did Not Want and the Disaster It Averted
Preface
by Hirsh Goodman, Amb. Dore Gold
Israel’s Narrative – An Overview
by Hirsh Goodman
Telling the Truth about the 2014 Gaza War
by Amb. Dore Gold
Israel, Gaza and Humanitarian Law: Efforts to Limit Civilian Casualties
by Lt. Col. (res.) David Benjamin
The Legal War: Hamas’ Crimes against Humanity and Israel’s Right to Self-Defense
by Amb. Alan Baker
The Limits of the Diplomatic Arena
by Amb. Dore Gold
Hamas’ Strategy Revealed
by Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi
Hamas’ Order of Battle: Weapons, Training, and Targets
by Lenny Ben-David
Hamas’ Tunnel Network: A Massacre in the Making
by Daniel Rubenstein
Hamas’ Silent Partners
by Lenny Ben-David
Gazan Casualties: How Many and Who They Were
by Lenny Ben-David
Key Moments in a 50-Day War:
A Timeline
by Daniel Rubenstein
About the Authors
  Download pdf  
Hamas Video: Depicting the End of Israel
Hamas Video: Infiltrating Israel from a Tunnel
View: Hamas on the March
Video: Hamas’ Terror Tunnels
Map: Cross-Border Tunnels Uncovered
Video: Attack by Hamas Frogmen
Chart: Number of Rockets Fired from Gaza Each Day
Video: IDF Thwarts Hamas Infiltration into Israel
Video: U.S. Military Praises Israel for Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties
When Does a Civilian Structure Become a Legitimate Military Target?
Video: Abbas Blames Hamas for Needless Loss of Life
View: IDF Leaflets Provide Gazans with Evacuation Instructions
Maps: Israel’s Response Concentrated on 3-Km. Border Zone
View: Hamas’ Use of Civilians as Human Shields
Palestinians Killed by Hamas' Errant Rockets
Fraudulent Claims of Civilian Deaths
View: Hamas Staged Casualties at UNWRA School
View: Hamas Execution of Civilians
Chart: Proportion of Civilians Killed in Recent Wars Fought by Western Armies
Poster: Brothers in Arms: Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad
View: Hamas Poster Featuring Osama Bin Laden