What lies in wait for Israeli troops, sources say, is a network hundreds of kilometers long and up to 80 meters deep, described by a freed hostage as "a spider's web" and by an expert as the "Viet Cong times 10."

What lies in wait for Israeli ground troops in Gaza, security sources say, is a Hamas tunnel network hundreds of kilometres long and up to 80 metres deep, described by one freed hostage as “a spider’s web” and by one expert as the “Viet Cong times 10”.

The Palestinian Islamist group has different kinds of tunnels running beneath the sandy 360-sq-km coastal strip and its borders - including attack, smuggling, storage and operational burrows, Western and Middle East sources familiar with the matter said.

The United States believes Israel’s special forces will face an unprecedented challenge having to battle Hamas militants while trying to avoid killing hostages held below ground, a U.S. official said.

  • MedicsOfAnarchy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    8 months ago

    But are Hamas going to be blamed for those deaths?>

    Yes, probably. Just as when a bank robber’s partner - or a civilian in the bank, etc - is shot and killed by responding police, the robber is charged with murder. The idea is that the dead person would not have been in that situation had it not been for the robber, making them the responsible party.