Israeli Army Discovers Tunnel That Once Held 20 Hostages In Gaza

Israeli soldiers discovered cramped cells at the end of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli military, Hamas used the tunnel to keep at least 20 hostages

During the week-long truce mediated by Qatar, the Israeli miliary freed some hostages from the Gaza tunnel. 

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In a recent development, the Israeli soldiers discovered cramped cells at the end of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli military, Hamas used the tunnel to keep at least 20 hostages. No hostages were found when the military discovered the tunnel.

According to a Reuters report, the tunnel is 1 kilometer-long and was rigged with blast doors and explosives. In the tunnel, the soldiers found a holding area, five narrow rooms behind metal bars, toilets, and mattresses. 

Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told the news agency that drawings by a child hostage who was freed at the time of the November truce were also found in the tunnel.

According to Hagari's account, the tunnel entrance was in the house of a Hamas member in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Israel has been focusing its fight in recent weeks against the Palestinian Islamist group in this area.

Pictures were released by from the underground labyrinth by the military and journalists were allowed in to document the tunnel before the army destroyed it. 

"The soldiers entered the tunnel where they encountered terrorists, engaging in a battle that ended with the elimination of the terrorists," Hagari told the Reuters.

Hagari said that according to the testimonies the army has, about 20 hostages were held in that tunnel at different times. 

The hostages were kept under harsh conditions without daylight, in dense air with little oxygen, and terrible humidity that makes breathing difficult, he added.

During the week-long truce mediated by Qatar, the Israeli miliary freed some hostages from the Gaza tunnel. 

On October 7, Hamas militants stormed from the Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise attack during a major Jewish holiday. 

Post this, Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza, with its prime minister declaring war with Hamas and vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.”

 According to a Gaza health ministry statement, a total of 24,927 Palestinians have been killed and 62,388 have been wounded in Israeli strikes.