Israel has announced plans to eliminate the remaining Hamas tunnel network beneath Gaza following the release of hostages, as part of a broader U.S-backed ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that the operation would take place under an “international mechanism” led by the United States, which brokered the ongoing ceasefire now in its third day.
“Israel’s great challenge after the hostage release phase will be the destruction of all Hamas terrorist tunnels in Gaza,” Katz stated.
“I have ordered the army to prepare to carry out this mission.”
Hamas has long used an extensive underground tunnel network in Gaza to evade Israeli surveillance and launch surprise attacks.
Some tunnels run under the Israel-Gaza border, enabling infiltration and attacks inside Israeli territory.
Much of the tunnel infrastructure has already been targeted and destroyed during the two-year war that erupted after Hamas’s large-scale cross-border assault on October 7, 2023.
However, Katz said the remaining tunnels would be dismantled as part of a demilitarisation process outlined in the next phases of the 20-point peace plan proposed by U.S President Donald Trump.
The plan includes Hamas’s disarmament and exclusion from governance in post-war Gaza.
Hamas has agreed to the first stage of the plan, which led to a ceasefire on Friday.
The next step, set for Monday, is the release of 48 Israeli hostages, both living and deceased.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have returned to Gaza City amid widespread destruction, as hopes cautiously rise for a sustainable end to the conflict.
