Who built it? The total length of underground tunnels in Gaza is estimated to exceed 500 kilometers, some of which are 50 meters deep underground, some sections are laid with tracks and equipped with independent power and ventilation systems. It is obvious that Hamas is not enough to build such a huge and fully functional tunnel system.
Because of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, the Gaza Strip is narrow and closed, and external traffic and circulation of resources are severely restricted.
As early as the end of the last century, there was a situation of using land to smuggle goods.
Israel and Egypt have adopted various blockade measures on the border, and ordinary tunnels are an important way for local people to maintain their daily necessities.
But from the last few decades of long, humble passageway that can allow a person to climb over, to the present this cross-crossing, depth of up to fifty meters underground network, the gap between is very obvious.
This is obviously not merely for the sake of people's livelihood, but a highly engineered large system.
The United Nations and many internationally renowned engineering experts have repeatedly pointed out in the past few years that such tunnels not only require a large number of building materials, but also require rigorous surveying and mapping, strong supporting structures, and continuous investment from long-term construction teams.
Concrete, steel, cables, and ventilation equipment cannot be obtained in large quantities by ordinary people through scattered smuggling, let alone in Gaza, an environment where resources are scarce and severely restricted.
This has sparked a lot of international speculation, with some believing that external forces have been technically supported, and others that they have been financially assisted.
Regardless of the specific details, all parties generally acknowledge that this system far exceeds the independent construction capabilities of a local armed force.
If you take a closer look at the layout of this tunnel network, you can see that it not only connects various districts within Gaza, but also extends to the border.
Some of the sections are deeper than the conventional standard for underground tunnels, and the interior space is sufficient for people and goods to pass through quickly.
The orbital section means that small vehicles are operating, and the supporting electricity and ventilation solve the basic problems of long-term underground activities.
The similarity between this design idea and modern underground engineering makes many experts suspect that it is implemented with reference to the mature scheme of existing underground transportation or military fortifications, which is why the outside world constantly questions the professional support behind it.
Technically, cross-crossed tunnel networks require complex management and maintenance.
Ventilation can't be wrong, otherwise personnel will be unable to move in deep tunnels due to lack of oxygen.
If the power system is disrupted, tracks and lighting will be paralyzed, and the entire network will lose most of its efficiency.
Such a huge system meant not only a construction team, but also a mature maintenance team, which would be very difficult in a turbulent area itself.
The local geology of Gaza is also all of sand and clay, the groundwater level is high, the excavation is especially easy to collapse, and the engineer must keep an eye on the changes in the soil, and a little wrong to change the direction.
To dig hundreds of kilometers of tunnels under these conditions, you must also do concrete reinforcement and power system, without professional technology can not work at all.
Hamas itself obviously doesn't have so many engineers, so there is international speculation that Iran may have sent engineers to help.
And the design of the tunnel is also thorough, divided into several layers, the upper floor can ride a motorcycle, the middle is a military factory, the lowest layer is the command center, also connected with schools, hospitals and other places, this planning ability is not easy to find a few workers.
After Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza in 2005, it began to tightly seal the border, making it difficult for Gazans to even get basic daily necessities, so they began to dig smuggling tunnels to survive.
At that time, the tunnels were very small, half-man-high grotto, which could only be transported by hanging baskets.
After Hamas came to power in 2007, the situation became more tense, these civilian smuggling tunnels slowly began to militarize, and after 2014, Hamas accelerated the construction of tunnels, turning them into an important tool against Israel, which can carry Tibetans, weapons, and hidden into Israel.
It can be said that these tunnels were slowly becoming the size of today in the environment of long-term blockade, with a little accumulation and external support.
Because of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, the Gaza Strip is narrow and closed, and external traffic and circulation of resources are severely restricted.
As early as the end of the last century, there was a situation of using land to smuggle goods.
Israel and Egypt have adopted various blockade measures on the border, and ordinary tunnels are an important way for local people to maintain their daily necessities.
But from the last few decades of long, humble passageway that can allow a person to climb over, to the present this cross-crossing, depth of up to fifty meters underground network, the gap between is very obvious.
This is obviously not merely for the sake of people's livelihood, but a highly engineered large system.
The United Nations and many internationally renowned engineering experts have repeatedly pointed out in the past few years that such tunnels not only require a large number of building materials, but also require rigorous surveying and mapping, strong supporting structures, and continuous investment from long-term construction teams.
Concrete, steel, cables, and ventilation equipment cannot be obtained in large quantities by ordinary people through scattered smuggling, let alone in Gaza, an environment where resources are scarce and severely restricted.
This has sparked a lot of international speculation, with some believing that external forces have been technically supported, and others that they have been financially assisted.
Regardless of the specific details, all parties generally acknowledge that this system far exceeds the independent construction capabilities of a local armed force.
If you take a closer look at the layout of this tunnel network, you can see that it not only connects various districts within Gaza, but also extends to the border.
Some of the sections are deeper than the conventional standard for underground tunnels, and the interior space is sufficient for people and goods to pass through quickly.
The orbital section means that small vehicles are operating, and the supporting electricity and ventilation solve the basic problems of long-term underground activities.
The similarity between this design idea and modern underground engineering makes many experts suspect that it is implemented with reference to the mature scheme of existing underground transportation or military fortifications, which is why the outside world constantly questions the professional support behind it.
Technically, cross-crossed tunnel networks require complex management and maintenance.
Ventilation can't be wrong, otherwise personnel will be unable to move in deep tunnels due to lack of oxygen.
If the power system is disrupted, tracks and lighting will be paralyzed, and the entire network will lose most of its efficiency.
Such a huge system meant not only a construction team, but also a mature maintenance team, which would be very difficult in a turbulent area itself.
The local geology of Gaza is also all of sand and clay, the groundwater level is high, the excavation is especially easy to collapse, and the engineer must keep an eye on the changes in the soil, and a little wrong to change the direction.
To dig hundreds of kilometers of tunnels under these conditions, you must also do concrete reinforcement and power system, without professional technology can not work at all.
Hamas itself obviously doesn't have so many engineers, so there is international speculation that Iran may have sent engineers to help.
And the design of the tunnel is also thorough, divided into several layers, the upper floor can ride a motorcycle, the middle is a military factory, the lowest layer is the command center, also connected with schools, hospitals and other places, this planning ability is not easy to find a few workers.
After Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza in 2005, it began to tightly seal the border, making it difficult for Gazans to even get basic daily necessities, so they began to dig smuggling tunnels to survive.
At that time, the tunnels were very small, half-man-high grotto, which could only be transported by hanging baskets.
After Hamas came to power in 2007, the situation became more tense, these civilian smuggling tunnels slowly began to militarize, and after 2014, Hamas accelerated the construction of tunnels, turning them into an important tool against Israel, which can carry Tibetans, weapons, and hidden into Israel.
It can be said that these tunnels were slowly becoming the size of today in the environment of long-term blockade, with a little accumulation and external support.