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Hamas attack tunnels also known as terror tunnels are a form of Tunnel warfare employed by the Hamas-led government of the semi-autonomous Palestinian population of Gaza. Unlike the Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels built in southern Gaza to smuggle goods prohibited by the government of Egypt from entering Gaza, or to avoid customs duties, attack tunnels are those constructed by the military wing of Hamas under the Israel-Gaza border for the sole and express purpose of military attacks on Israel.
Strategic objectives
A Palestinian militia document obtained by the news Web site al-Monitor and published in the Washington Post described the objective of the under-border tunnels as “to surprise the enemy and strike it a deadly blow that doesn’t allow a chance for survival or escape or allow him a chance to confront and defend itself.”
Columnist Jeffrey Goldberg and describes the tunnels as "kidnapping tunnels" fro which attackers emerge equipped with "tranquilizers and handcuffs" to enable the kidnapping of Israelis.
Tunnel attacks
In the 2006 2006 Gaza cross-border raid, Palestinian militants used a tunnel to kidnap Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
On July 17, 2014, Hamas militants crossed the Israeli border through a terror tunnel in an attempt to attack the farming village of Sufa, Israel but were stopped by Israeli Defense Forces.
On July 21, 2014 10 armed militants crossed the Israeli border through a terror tunnel in an attempt to attack Kibbutz Nir Am, but were killed in the attempt.
Tunnel construction
Hamas is estimated to have poured $30 million and 600,000 tons of concrete into building the tunnels. Each tunnel is estimated to cost upwards of $1 million.
References
- Behind the headlines: Hamas' terror tunnels, July 22, 2014, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- How Hamas uses its tunnels to kill and capture Israeli soldiers,Terrence McCoy, July 21, 2014, Washington Post.
- Destroying Hamas’s kidnapping tunnels only way to protect Israelis, Jeffrey Goldberg, July 28, 2014, National Post.
- How Hamas uses its tunnels to kill and capture Israeli soldiers,Terrence McCoy, July 21, 2014, Washington Post.
- IDF thwarts Gaza terrorists from attempted tunnel infiltration into Israel, Yaakov Lappin, July 17, 2014, Jerusalem Post.
- 10 terrorists killed attempting to infiltrate Israel through tunnel, Yaakov Lappin, 07/21/2014, Jerusalem Post.
- Secret Tunnels Under Israel Reveal Threat From Gaza, Calev Ben-David, July 27, 2014, Newsweek.
- Liel Leibovitz|July 23, 2014, Some Concrete Facts About Hamas, Tablet Magazine.
- How Hamas uses its tunnels to kill and capture Israeli soldiers,Terrence McCoy, July 21, 2014, Washington Post.