The IDF’s elite Yahalom combat engineering unit has destroyed another tunnel used by senior Hamas officials, eliminating terrorists within the passage in close-quarters combat during the operation.
Recently, the IDF released for publication the discovery of a number of strategic tunnels in Khan Younis that were used by senior Hamas officials. On Wednesday, the IDF announced that another tunnel route that served the senior terror officials has been destroyed.
The tunnel stretches over a kilometer, and millions of shekels were invested in it. This tunnel is part of a strategic and branched underground tunnel network located under Khan Yunis. It was used by senior Hamas officials and the Khan Younis Brigade as a hideout and for managing combat.
Yahalom troops and additional IDF forces operating under the 98th Division raided the underground route beneath the Khan Younis area.
Upon entering the tunnel, the troops encountered blast doors and barricades set by the terrorists to prevent the forces from entering the tunnel.
The troops broke through the blockades and identified terrorists in the tunnel, using special means and in close-quarters combat with terrorists.
The tunnel was investigated and scanned for intelligence, sleeping quarters, electrical and water infrastructure before it was destroyed.
The Yahalom unit has been operating throughout the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, both above and below ground. The unit focuses on the tunnel network, which constitutes a central part of Hamas’ mode of operation, and includes significant and strategic centers of gravity of the organization.
The fighters battle the enemy in close-quarters combat while exposing and destroying tunnels and underground routes.
