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Israeli soldiers could end up fighting through an 'underground nightmare' in an invasion of Gaza, home to Hamas' infamous 'metro' of tunnels
Insider ^ | October 19, 2023 | Jake Epstein

Posted on 10/31/2023 6:55:22 PM PDT by The_Media_never_lie

Israeli officials have vowed to crush Hamas in response to its brutal terror attacks earlier this month, signaling that the way to ultimately do this is through a major ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. That's easier said than done though.

In Gaza, invading Israeli forces will face a complex and dangerous urban environment, in which Hamas' well-armed and well-prepared forces can hide, set up traps, and launch surprise assaults. And some of the most difficult fighting could be underground, in the city-like labyrinth of tunnels that are vital to the militant group's defensive and offensive operations.

Although it is unclear how the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will go about dealing with challenges posed by the tunnels, they are a known threat and one for which the IDF is not unprepared. But while the military has the means to infiltrate this network, a former US Army infantry soldier said that in any capacity, "it will increase the time to conduct an operation in Gaza."

"You can't leave a hole to your back," John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at West Point's Modern War Institute, told Insider. "And you can't not clear a tunnel if there's a potential for a hostage to be in there."

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: Gaza; Hamas; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: gaza; hamas; idf; israel; ohnoz; tunnel; war
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Tough choices.
1 posted on 10/31/2023 6:55:22 PM PDT by The_Media_never_lie
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To: The_Media_never_lie

How does the author know the IDF is not prepared?


2 posted on 10/31/2023 6:56:15 PM PDT by The_Media_never_lie ( )
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To: The_Media_never_lie

I suspect what they might do is plug the holes as they find them and just wait them out, because they will have to come up for air.


3 posted on 10/31/2023 6:56:29 PM PDT by Jonty30 (It turns out that I did not buy my cell phone for all the calls I might be missing at home.)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

Wish they had enough anesthetic gas to pump the tunnels full and then safely enter wearing respirators to clean up.


4 posted on 10/31/2023 6:59:42 PM PDT by LTC.Ret (I was MAGA when MAGA wasn't cool)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

Author is stuck in 1945. Glorious Soviet Union!


5 posted on 10/31/2023 7:00:14 PM PDT by jjotto ( Blessed are You LORD, who crushes enemies and subdues the wicked.)
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To: All

I would have collected about 10k rats, starved them for a week and let them loose in the tunnels...


6 posted on 10/31/2023 7:04:03 PM PDT by DHerion
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To: The_Media_never_lie

Cut off their ventilation.
Use LIDAR to map out the tunnels.
Apply Thermobaric weapons GENEROUSLY.

Could work….maybe


7 posted on 10/31/2023 7:04:28 PM PDT by dadgum (Enough!)
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To: The_Media_never_lie
Although it is unclear how the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will go about dealing with challenges posed by the tunnels

The article is pure speculation. I hate this type of crap. It’s news AFTER something occurs and it should be reported on then. With that said, the engineer in me can think of several ways to destroy the tunnels with minimal casualties. That begins with what the IDF has already done. They cut the power. That means no ventilation in the tunnels and it would eventually limit the time Hamas can stay in them. As for any hostages in tunnels, that’s a shame. At this point, military planners have to consider the hostages dead. I’m not from the school for negotiating with terrorists over any issue, particularly hostages. It only begets more hostage taking in the future.

8 posted on 10/31/2023 7:04:44 PM PDT by ConservativeInPA (Rebuild the Temple.)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

I’ve heard they have a device that explodes and seals the tunnel in a tough foam.

They can seal those SOB’s in and walk away.


9 posted on 10/31/2023 7:06:21 PM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie
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To: The_Media_never_lie

Like a spider web, it has to have a central point...FOAM IT!


10 posted on 10/31/2023 7:06:29 PM PDT by silent majority rising
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To: DHerion

How deliciously evil!!!


11 posted on 10/31/2023 7:07:11 PM PDT by CletusVanDamme (Lord, I'm so tired. How long can this go on?)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

They need to be a ship load of expanding foam (Great Stuff tm). Fill those tunnels and let them suffocate like the rats they are.


12 posted on 10/31/2023 7:12:06 PM PDT by Cornfed21
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To: The_Media_never_lie

>> How does the author know the IDF is not prepared?

The author says the IDF *is prepared*, in a confusing double-negative way — they are “not unprepared”:

“they are a known threat and one for which the IDF is not unprepared”


13 posted on 10/31/2023 7:12:20 PM PDT by Nervous Tick ("First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people...": ISLAM is the problem!)
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To: The_Media_never_lie
I would be interested to see what this “city-like labyrinth” looks like.
14 posted on 10/31/2023 7:15:03 PM PDT by MotorCityBuck (Keep the change, you filthy animal! )
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To: dadgum

“Cut off their ventilation.
Use LIDAR to map out the tunnels.
Apply Thermobaric weapons GENEROUSLY.

Could work….maybe”

Screw it pump in carbon monoxide. Let them go take a permanent dirt nap. Or better yet sirin gas. Let them suffer.


15 posted on 10/31/2023 7:15:13 PM PDT by DAC21
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To: ConservativeInPA
With that said, the engineer in me can think of several ways to destroy the tunnels with minimal casualties.

Personally, I could care less about the enemy casualties.

16 posted on 10/31/2023 7:15:32 PM PDT by econjack
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To: The_Media_never_lie

Defending those tunnels has its’ own dangers. The Japanese created warrens of tunnels on Pacific islands. Mortality rate among defenders was 100%. We did pretty well against tunnels in Vietnam, too, when we chose to. And then we didn’t have wireguided robots or sponge bombs, both of which the IDF is already deploying.

The Hamas tunnels are known to be dependent on electricity for ventilation. Destroy their sources and they become as uninhabitable as a collapsed gold mine. Find their air intakes and deploy tear gas, or something stronger.


17 posted on 10/31/2023 7:16:01 PM PDT by Chad C. Mulligan
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To: The_Media_never_lie

U.S. should send Israel massive amounts of seized fentanyl, with which they could make fentanyl gas, and then deploy that into the tunnel systems


18 posted on 10/31/2023 7:16:30 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: DHerion

19 posted on 10/31/2023 7:18:02 PM PDT by Sertorius (A hayseed with no Greek and dam^ proud of it)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

It depends on how much gas is left in Gaza. Hamas wouldn’t be able to survive in the tunnels for long without using gas for ventilation.


20 posted on 10/31/2023 7:20:48 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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