Israel to demolish Hamas tunnels beneath Gaza following hostage-release phase

JERUSALEM, Oct 12 — Israel announced plans to destroy the remaining tunnels of Hamas beneath Gaza with the approval of the United States once the current hostage-release phase concludes.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said the mission would be carried out under an “international mechanism” led by the United States, which brokered the three-day-old Gaza ceasefire.

“Israel’s main challenge after the hostage-release phase will be to eliminate all Hamas terror tunnels in Gaza,” Katz said in a statement. “I have instructed the army to prepare for this operation.”

Hamas has long relied on a vast tunnel network beneath Gaza for movement, storage, and surprise attacks, including some tunnels extending into Israeli territory. Many were destroyed during the two-year conflict sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 cross-border assault.

Katz added that the remaining tunnels would be dismantled as part of the disarmament and demilitarisation process envisioned in the later stages of the US-backed ceasefire plan.

Under the agreement’s first phase, which took effect on Friday, Hamas is to release 48 Israeli hostages — both living and deceased — while Israel is expected to free 250 “national security prisoners” and 1,700 Gazans detained by its military.

However, Hamas has resisted calls to surrender its weapons. Senior official Hossam Badran told AFP that the second stage of the US plan “contains many complexities and difficulties.” — AFP

Members of the Red Crescent stand near a trucks loaded with humanitarian aid on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, waiting to get access to the Gaza Strip. — AFP pic

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