The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) recently discovered a huge tunnel built by the Palestinian Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip. Tel Aviv has claimed that the remains of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin of the Israeli Army were held for much of the past 11 years in this tunnel, stretching over 7km long and 25mt deep, until being returned earlier in November 2025 as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. According to the IDF, the tunnel contains around 80 rooms which have been used by Hamas commanders for weapon storage, planning attacks and prolonged stays.

Reports suggest that the tunnel is located beneath the densely populated Rafah region. The IDF have also claimed that the tunnel was built underneath the main headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, a mosque, a clinic and a kindergarten school, alleging that the Palestinian outfit used the space as an electrical supply room. A senior IDF spokesperson has stressed that Hamas built the tunnel “in order to carry out attacks against civilians”. However, he did not discuss what specific intelligence led to that finding.

The IDF have revealed that they detained Dr Marwan al-Hams, the head of the Gaza Strip’s field hospitals (a position within the Hamas-run Health Ministry). It may be noted that Dr al-Hams was “involved in declaring the death” of Lieutenant Goldin following the latter’s abduction in 2014. He “is suspected of knowing where he (Lieutenant Goldin) was buried”.

The newly-discovered tunnel has attracted wide global attention because of its size and sophistication of the infrastructure, much of which lies beneath residential districts, schools and aid facilities. The IDF have published a video footage, showing long corridors lit with wiring systems, large chambers carved into the earth and several access points disguised within civilian neighbourhoods. After examining the site, the Israeli engineers described the construction as “highly advanced”, stressing on the use of reinforced concrete and air-circulation systems that allowed fighters to operate below ground for extended periods. The tunnel shows the extent to which Hamas invested in underground warfare as a core defence and offensive strategy.

Israeli defence officials have opined that the discovery of this tunnel complex sheds light on the conditions under which Hamas operated and maintained command posts, including those of senior commanders, like Muhammad Shabaneh. They believe that the unveiling of the tunnel provides a tactical advantage to the IDF, apart from representing a sombre reminder of the intense conflict that has profoundly affected the region for over a decade.

Meanwhile, humanitarian organisations have warned that if fighting occurs around such civilian-adjacent infrastructure, then it would pose greater risks to innocent civilians. With international observers calling for transparency and restraint, the uncovering of this massive tunnel system underscores the complexity, as well as intensity, of the conflict now unfolding in Gaza.

Meanwhile,

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das