NEW YORK TIMES SCREENSHOT

NHK on October 30 quoted an analysis by Professor Joel Roskin at the University of Ba-Ilan in Israel, saying that Hamas forces have very diverse strategies using tunnels to deal with the Israeli army.

Mr. Roskin has studied the tunnels in the Gaza Strip and estimates that the tunnel system is 300-500 km long, although the exact total length is unknown. He estimates that the tunnel network is up to 70 m deep, equivalent to the height of a 20-story building.

His estimate is based on research conducted by an Israeli military investigation team and sketches of underground tunnels using information from government and other sources.

According to Mr. Roskin, there is a vertical tunnel at a hospital in the urban area of ​​Gaza that leads to Hamas' operational headquarters, power generation facilities and hostage holding cells.

He said there were missile launchers near the ground in residential areas. The tunnel system had gentle slopes that extended up to 8 km from the urban area to the vicinity of the Israeli border. The tunnels had vertical sections that rose to the surface.

This expert believes that Hamas can store and fire rockets and mortars from underground, with underground holes covered by camouflage and controlled remotely.

Professor Roskin said Hamas had made “almost genius” efforts to use the underground system “for a range of military capabilities”, including command and control, ballistic missile firing squads, hostage-taking and guerrilla warfare.

The tunnel system in Gaza began being dug in the 1980s to smuggle food and other goods from Egypt, including weapons.

Regarding the Israeli army's expansion of its ground campaign in the Gaza Strip, Mr. Roskin said it could take several months to control and destroy the tunnel system.