Israel might pump hundreds of gallons of seawater into the labyrinthine community of tunnels beneath Gaza in a bid to flush out Hamas fighters, a navy professional says.
The potential to flood the tunnels, which the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) studies the Israeli navy is contemplating, can be a big transfer and would include steep dangers.
“Yes it can be done, and yes it would work”, navy analyst Professor Michael Clarke tells Sky News.
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Considerable consideration has been paid to the use – and alleged use – of Gaza’s tunnels throughout the Israel-Hamas warfare, following the 7 October assaults.
They are believed to increase for presumably lots of of miles and exist 30m (100ft) beneath the floor, making them tough to map and posing a problem for any Israeli offensive or potential occupation.
According to the WSJ, in November Israel’s military accomplished the set-up of a minimum of 5 pumps a couple of mile north of the al Shati refugee camp that might transfer hundreds of cubic metres of water per hour, flooding the tunnels inside weeks.
It was not clear whether or not Israel would think about using the pumps earlier than all hostages have been launched, in keeping with the WSJ story.
Hamas has beforehand mentioned it has hidden captives in “safe places and tunnels”.
This is one among two huge dangers Israel would face if it determined to flood the tunnels, Professor Clarke mentioned.
“They do not know whether or not hostages are being held down there,” he mentioned.
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The different threat, Professor Clarke mentioned, was that by flooding the tunnels the Israeli navy might find yourself polluting the aquifers that help with Gaza’s water provide.
“That would be a piece of environmental vandalism which the world would not thank Israel for,” he added.
However, one other chance is that Israel doesn’t essentially intend to flood the tunnels in any respect, a minimum of within the quick time period.
“Letting a story get out may be a piece of psychological warfare so that it gets any Gazans in the tunnels to get out,” Professor Clark advised.
“To flush them out of the tunnels with words rather than with water.”
Source: information.sky.com”