Aryeh Savir – YNet
Hamas had been preparing a murderous massive assault on Israeli civilian targets during the upcoming Jewish New Year holiday, Rosh Hashanah – this according to anonymous sources in the Israeli security services cited by the Israeli daily Maariv.
Hamas had been planning a surprise attack where 200 fighters would have been dispatched through the dozens of tunnels dug by Hamas under the border from Gaza to Israel. The terror organization aimed to seize kibbutzim and other communities while killing and kidnapping Israeli civilians.
IDF Infantry Find Weapons in Gaza Tunnel
In total, thousands of Hamas terrorists would have been swarming across Israel, wearing IDF uniforms, which would have further complicated an Israeli response. Reports further indicate that Hezbollah may have planned to join the attack as well, opening another front in the north.
The source stressed that the current unplanned war with Hamas inadvertently thwarted a catastrophic event on an apocalyptic magnitude such as the Yom Kippur War, which would have ‘brought the State of Israel to its knees.’ The destruction of these tunnels takes away from Hamas a strategic weapon it has been working on and investing in heavily for years according to the source.
Each tunnel has arteries, veins, offshoots as well as offshoots of offshoots designed in intricate and complex arrangements. As one Israeli spokesman said, “There are two Gazas, one above ground and one below ground: an underground terrorist city.”
Speaking to the CBC, a senior Israeli defense official said the Israeli military had considerable prior knowledge of Hamas weaponry and tunnels, but was still “surprised” by the extent of both when the current ground operation began.
He added that the network had not been detected by aerial surveillance, because Hamas had solved the most obvious problem: how to hide the piles of sand removed from the tunnels. This, he said, was painstakingly taken away, a few bags at a time, and stored out of sight in buildings and underneath greenhouses.
The official said Hamas had diverted huge quantities of cement, imported for civilian construction, into the building of concrete-block walls and roofs for the tunnels. As an example, he cited a 1.7-kilometer tunnel discovered in February 2013 that Israeli engineers estimated would have required 500 tons of concrete – “enough to build a three-story hospital.”
Israel has discovered 31 tunnels so far, and has destroyed several of them by employing bulldozers, explosive and other methods. IDF excavation of the tunnels has resulted in the seizure of tons of Hamas supplies, as well as the discovery of plans for future operations.
IDF Destroys Hamas Tunnel in Gaza
Israeli soldiers have already frustrated several surprise assaults by Hamas through tunnels from Gaza into southern Israel. On July 21, ten Hamas terrorists emerged from a tunnel. They were immediately spotted and eliminated, but the clash cost the lives of two IDF soldiers.
Speaking with Tazpit News Agency, Minister Ya’acov Perry, a member of the Israeli Security Cabinet, commended the IDF for its outstanding achievements. “The IDF is working to uncover a network of underground tunnels that could have created unbearable terrorist attacks,” he said.
He further commended the IDF’s prior intelligence, which enabled these achievements. “I am sure that Israeli technology, which has provided us with the Iron Dome, will provide us with a solution for the terror tunnels as well.” He said various solutions were currently being examined.
He further stressed that military capabilities and technological advantages were not enough. A comprehensive reality – changing diplomatic solution must be presented as well.
Writing for Gatestone, Lawrence Franklin says that the construction of network of tunnels used hundreds of tons of concrete that might otherwise have been used by the Palestinians for building homes, shopping malls, parks, schools, hospitals and libraries.
Footage of Tunnels Used by Hamas for Terror Attacks
What the world fails to realize is that Israel is fighting for the entire western world. Can’t people see what havoc these people are creating throughout the entire world? They will not take heed until something happens again in the US, except on a much larger scale than 9/11.
The IDF knew but they aren’t allowed to do anything without the political OK. Yeah, yeah, same garbage that we’re all mad about now.
Your comments brought to mind the well-known story about the rich brother and the poor brother… they had gone their separate ways and things got worse and worse for the poor one… his wife persuaded him to go see the rich one, “He’s your brother, of course he’ll help”… but the rich one pretended not to recognize him. Awhile later their father took ill and both went (separately) to visit him… the father told the rich one he doesn’t know him, the rich one said “But I’m your son!”, and the father answered, “Iz der bruder nisht kayn bruder, iz… Read more »
Israel should get rid of every Arab in Gaza. Let them go back to where they came from and leave the Israelis alone. I don’t care if Gaza is bombed off the face of the earth.
Just thank Hashem this attack was prevented!!
Is it just me wondering how Israel was sleeping for years? or did they know and not want to rock the political boat???
Where’d you get that?
And FYI, we had intelligence on tunnels (not all, but some) a while ago, and soldiers standing at the border knew what was going on…which makes your claim sound kinda funny…
Some israeli civillians claimed they heard noises underground, so a doctor gave them medication (!)
SHOCKING!!
There are some things I don’t want to imagine.
Okay, now you sound much more sane. 3 families is perhaps what it started with, but the number is already nearly 50, many of them not only children but spouses and parents as well. 3 weeks ago we were not angry about the kidnappings. We were angry that things had been allowed to get this far and that this had not been prevented. We still feel the same way, except ten times more so, about the whole tunnel business, the fallen soldiers and civilians, the injures soldiers and civilians, the thousands of trauma victims, and the economic blow. That doesn’t… Read more »
I sure do have understanding and feeling for the 3 parents that lost there sons Al Kiddush Hashem.
I was showing the greatness of Hashem.
3 weeks ago we were angry about the kidnapping, now we see the hand of Hashem.
Can you begin to fathom what would have taken place just a few short months from now???
When everyone is in shul on Rosh Hashona and many towns would have been attacked at once!!!
Can you imagine it!!!
They were looking to out do 9/11….
I wasn’t in any way glorifying that 3 families lost a child.
It is terrible and awful that we had to loose 3 Neshomos. Why does it have to be done this way? but clearly all the Davening we did for the boys was heard-We have a father running the world.
Chhhhh, ahavti.
This is a real tunnel (and a real miracle) but you are right: ein aravim, ein piguim! Az shenichasel otam?
Through our incursions into Gaza it was uncovered that Hamas had planned a terrible calamity. This Rosh Hashana they had planned to send out 200 terrorists from each of the tunnels and decimate and destroy the Israeli communities in the south. The mother of one of the 3 kidnapped boys said “Now I know where all our prayers and achudut (Unity of Jewish People coming together) went.” On our children’s behalf, everyone prayed and were united for 18 days all over Israel. This led to the Gaza War and discovery of the tunnels in Israel! Many thousand would have been… Read more »
Yes, this is hashgacha pratis and this is the silver lining (more like miracle), but the tone of your comment is grossly happy-go-lucky-everything-is-good.
It’s not good. It’s awful. It’s sick. It’s scary. It’s awe-inspiring that G-d did such a miracle. But it definitely can’t be described as good. And making it sound so benign, good, and innocent means that you have absolutely no understanding of what the value of life is.
-#2
This tunnel is a ruse. While everyone is patting themselves on the back for finding this fake tunnel nobody is looking for the real one. The only solution al pi teva is to get all Arabs out of Gaza and back to arabia or wherever they came from. Ein Arvim, ein piguim!
Mabey this can be the silver lining of the 3 KEDOSHIM that were kidnapped and killed Al Kiddush Hashem.
If not for the kidnapping the IDF would have never entered gaza. to find these tunnels
EVERYTHING IS HASHGACHA PROTIS.
Boruch hashem
the families of the three teens who were murdered (which is what gave the final push and unity necessary to start this operation and to okay ground fighting) think about this news. Something tells me they were informed a while ago, when this plan was first discovered, but I have no proof. What is definite is that we, and all of Israel, owe our lives to those three teens. I wonder what they and their parents did to merit saving all of Israel. I also don’t want to know and hope that no one in my family ever has such… Read more »
Perhaps it is in the merit of the nashim tzidkaniyos, the righteous Jewish ladies, as the saying of Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchov that in the merit of the Jewish ladies’ Pesach cleaning, we merit a good Rosh Hashana and New Year.