Hamas helped hatch the October 7 massacre against Israel beneath a cemetery in southern Gaza, according to the Israeli military, which recently cleared an elaborate tunnel shaft.
Footage released by the Israeli military on Monday shows a tunnel more than half a mile long and 65 feet deep across a cemetery in the Bani Suheila area of Khan Yunis.
The tunnel led to several large rooms, including a kitchen space complete with spice racks, electricity and plumbing.
Inside the tunnel were several bathrooms, bedrooms, and even a room that looked like a conference room.
The base was where leaders of Hamas’ eastern battalion allegedly commanded their troops during the October terrorist attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The Israel Defense Forces also claimed that the base was where Hamas controlled troops during Operation Wall Security, an 11-day conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in 2021.
When the IDF arrived in Bani Suheila, the tunnels were active and Israeli soldiers engaged and killed Hamas gunmen hiding behind a booby-trapped door to an underground labyrinth, the Israeli brig. Gen. Dan Goldfuss told reporters over the weekend.
The cemetery and nearby mosque were then destroyed, leaving a 459-foot-high crater in its wake. Satellite analysis suggested that the destroyed cemetery was Shuhada Bani Suheila cemetery.
Despite videos and tours provided by the IDF, reporters were unable to independently verify what exactly was inside the tunnel that cuts through the cemetery. Reporters were shown only the entrance leading to the tunnel.
Goldfuss told a CNN reporter. American news outlets reported that the building was “unsafe” and noted that none of the entrances shown to journalists appeared to be on cemetery grounds.
When asked by Associated Press and CNN reporters about what happened to the bodies buried in the cemetery, Goldfuss said the IDF faces the challenge of fighting Hamas and removing bodies at the same time.
“We’re trying to move the bodies aside as much as we can,” he said of the exhumed bodies. “But remember, when we’re fighting here and the enemy is flanking you over and over again and using these compounds to hide, there’s not much you can do. there is no.”
The Israel Defense Forces have faced criticism over the exhumation of bodies in the Gaza Strip following a CNN investigation earlier this month documenting Israeli military actions at cemeteries.
According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, UNESCO has previously urged Hamas and Israel to avoid attacks on sites of cultural significance, as the destruction of cemeteries and mosques is considered a war crime under the Rome Statute. Ta.
Israel argues that these protections are invalid if these locations are used for military purposes, and the IDF is working to dismantle the Hamas terrorist network and locate the more than 130 hostages held in Gaza. It defended its actions as necessary to identify individuals.
with post wire
