{"id":97173,"date":"2023-10-19T12:19:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T09:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/?p=97173"},"modified":"2023-10-19T22:47:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T19:47:05","slug":"the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/","title":{"rendered":"The IDF Must Peel Off the Top Layer of Gaza to Reach Hamas"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Israeli armor and infantry enter Gaza to eradicate Hamas and its infrastructure, they will find some areas of Gaza towns in rubble. Unlike previous engagements with the terrorist entity, the Israel Defense Forces will not conduct surgical operations, issue \u201cknock on the roof\u201d warnings, or meticulously attempt to hit the room of a Hamas commander reported behind the fourth window on the eighth floor. Today, the building is razed \u2013 in accordance with international law.<\/p>\n

Instead, Israel has warned broad areas and neighborhoods: \u201cEvacuate for your own good!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The destruction in Gaza after an Israel Air Force bombing in October 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the May 2021 fighting, the Israel Air Force carefully threaded its bombs to avoid buildings and hit roads under which Hamas tunnels were dug. It had developed sophisticated bombs to penetrate roads and tunnels and then collapse the tunnels.\u00a0 Photographic evidence at the time, showed small-diameter bomb craters and large areas of road that had collapsed inward<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here is a photo of Hamas tunnels that had collapsed inward.<\/p>\n

\"Collapsed
Collapsed tunnels from the Gaza street level (Social media<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A decade ago, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, publicly declared the tunnels\u2019 mission.<\/p>\n

\"Ismail<\/p>\n

Hamas had boasted over decades that it had dug \u201chundreds of miles\u201d of tunnels \u2013 not the crude ones from Egypt to smuggle cigarettes, weapons, or people, or the narrow tunnels used by fighters to invade Israel quickly. These Hamas tunnels under neighborhoods and buildings were superhighways containing weapons depots, command centers, rocket launchers, and quick getaways.<\/p>\n

Just one month after the previous war, on June 15, 2021, the Qatari Al Jazeera<\/em> network broadcast a video of the extensive electrified and ventilated Hamas \u201cMetro\u201d tunnels, showing them repaired and fully functional. Unsurprisingly, the Hamas mouthpiece, Al Jazeera<\/em>, removed the video recently. Hamas realized the harm the PR video could cause. With foresight, MEMRI<\/em> saved the video: Al-Jazeera Reports On Damage To Hamas\u2019 Tunnels In Gaza (MEMRI<\/a>). The screenshots below show the extent of the tunnel network, which has undoubtedly been improved since, and display the strategic requirement to destroy the underground war machine.<\/p>\n

\"Llarge-scale
On June 5, 2021, Al Jazeera broadcast a video on the \u201cMetro\u201d tunnels, showing the large-scale storage of rockets under Gaza cities. (Al Jazeera screenshot<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"screenshot\"<\/p>\n

\"screenshot\"<\/p>\n

\"screenshot\"<\/p>\n

\"screenshot\"<\/p>\n

Imagine All the People<\/h3>\n

International organizations such as the United Nations and NGOs criticize Israel for \u201cforcing Palestinians to leave their homes\u201d and subjecting Gaza residents to bombings. Imagine a situation where Hamas would open their deep, ventilated, and probably well-stocked tunnels to shelter civilians.\u00a0 Could it happen? Never. A dead Palestinian civilian is not in Israel\u2019s interest. But it is undoubtedly in Hamas\u2019 interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hamas commanders, weapons depots, HQs, and rockets are under residential buildings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1930,"featured_media":86173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[127,7072],"tags":[5868],"coauthors":[6115],"yoast_head":"\nThe IDF Must Peel Off the Top Layer of Gaza to Reach Hamas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hamas commanders, weapons depots, HQs, and rockets are under residential buildings - The IDF Must Peel Off the Top Layer of Gaza to Reach Hamas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The IDF Must Peel Off the Top Layer of Gaza to Reach Hamas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hamas commanders, weapons depots, HQs, and rockets are under residential buildings - The IDF Must Peel Off the Top Layer of Gaza to Reach Hamas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jerusalemcenter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-19T09:19:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-19T19:47:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jcpa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AP_21133150562076_res.jpg?fit=1280%2C789&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"789\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lenny Ben-David\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lennybendavid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@jerusalemcenter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lenny Ben-David\" \/>\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\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/\",\"name\":\"The IDF Must Peel Off the Top Layer of Gaza to Reach Hamas\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jcpa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AP_21133150562076_res.jpg?fit=1280%2C789&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-19T09:19:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-19T19:47:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/#\/schema\/person\/924195c20aae61b1f0001171e0858b26\"},\"description\":\"Hamas commanders, weapons depots, HQs, and rockets are under residential buildings - The IDF Must Peel Off the Top Layer of Gaza to Reach Hamas\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jcpa.org\/the-idf-must-peel-off-the-top-layer-of-gaza-to-reach-hamas\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jcpa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AP_21133150562076_res.jpg?fit=1280%2C789&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jcpa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AP_21133150562076_res.jpg?fit=1280%2C789&ssl=1\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":789,\"caption\":\"People stand on a collapsed Hamas military tunnel beneath a Gaza street after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, May 13, 2021. 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