President Joe Biden declined to directly answer a question on reports that Israel was pumping seawater into Hamas’ Gaza tunnel complex, referring only to assertions that there were no hostages in the areas targeted. Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had recently begun pumping seawater into Hamas’ vast labyrinth of tunnels underneath Gaza, in a process that would likely take weeks. ABC News later published a similar report and said the flooding appeared limited as Israel evaluates the strategy’s effectiveness.
Quick Read
- President Joe Biden stated that he cannot confirm whether hostages taken by Hamas are in tunnels under Gaza as Israel begins flooding them with seawater.
- Biden referred to Israeli assurances that there are no hostages in the tunnels but expressed uncertainty about this claim.
- The flooding is part of Israel’s strategy to destroy the tunnel network used by Hamas for movement and arms storage.
- The tunnels, extending for 300 miles, play a key role in Hamas’s operations.
- Families of hostages have expressed fears that flooding the tunnels could harm their loved ones.
- The process of flooding, expected to take weeks, has sparked concerns about environmental damage and harm to Gaza’s fresh water supplies.
- At least 18,412 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s offensive in Gaza began in response to Hamas’s cross-border attack.
- The U.S. is evaluating the effectiveness of using seawater in the extensive tunnel system.
- The Israeli military is using various techniques to destroy the tunnel network, including airstrikes and liquid explosives.
- The military’s operations also focus on areas like northern Gaza and Khan Younis, with reluctance to send soldiers into the tunnels due to risks.
Reuters has the story:
Biden points to Gaza hostages when asked about Israeli tunnel flooding reports
Newslooks- WASHINGTON, (Reuters)
President Joe Biden said that he cannot confirm whether any of the hostages taken by Hamas two months ago remain in a system of labyrinthine tunnels under Gaza as Israel begins pumping in sea water.
“With regard to the flooding of the tunnels, there are assertions being made that they’re quite sure there are no hostages in any of these tunnels. But I don’t know that for a fact.”
Biden said, apparently referring to assurances from Israel. He did not elaborate, however.
“I do know though that every civilian death is an absolute tragedy, and Israel has stated its intent, as I said, to match its intent with actions.”
Biden added.
Roughly 139 hostages remain in captivity following the Palestinian group Hamas’s surprise Oct. 7 cross-border attack, according to official figures. Over 1,200 other people were killed.
The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials briefed on Israeli military operations, reported earlier Tuesday that Israel’s decision to flood the tunnels with water from the Mediterranean Sea is part of a broader strategy being employed to destroy the tunnel network.
Hamas has used it to move fighters and arms covertly in the densely-populated coastal enclave. Israeli officials separately believe some hostages are being held there, the Journal reported. Hostages’ families have told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they fear their loved ones will be killed if the tunnels are flooded, according to reports.
The tunnel system extends for 300 miles (482 kilometers), and the use of thick blast doors is being assessed by the Israelis, according to US officials. The process is expected to take several weeks to complete.
The move, which was first announced by the newspaper earlier this month, has drawn criticism, with some saying it would create an environmental catastrophe by contaminating Gaza’s already limited fresh water supplies and significantly harm local agriculture.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 18,412 Palestinians have been killed and 50,100 injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Israel Begins Pumping Seawater Into Hamas’s Gaza Tunnels
Early effort to flood tunnels is one of several techniques aimed at destroying network that underpins Hamas’s operations
Newslooks- WASHINGTON- (WSJ)
Israel’s military has begun pumping seawater into Hamas’s vast complex of tunnels in Gaza, according to U.S. officials briefed on the Israeli military’s operations, part of an intensive effort to destroy the underground infrastructure that has underpinned the group’s operations.
The move to flood the tunnels with water from the Mediterranean, which is in an early stage, is one of several techniques Israel is using to try to clear and destroy the tunnels.
A spokesperson for the Israeli defense minister declined to comment, saying the tunnel operations are classified.
Israeli officials say that Hamas’s underground system has been key to its operations on the battlefield. The tunnel system, they say, is used by Hamas to maneuver fighters across the battlefield and store the group’s rockets and munitions, and enables the group’s leaders to command and control their forces. Israel also believes some hostages are being held inside tunnels.
In reported recordings between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and released hostages and their families leaked last week, Israelis angrily told Netanyahu that they feared flooding the tunnels would kill their loved ones.
The utility of using seawater in a vast underground labyrinth that extends for roughly 300 miles and includes thick blast doors is still being evaluated by the Israelis, according to U.S. officials.
Flooding the tunnels, which would likely be a weekslong process, began around the time Israel added two more pumps to the five pumps installed last month and conducted some initial tests, U.S. officials said.
Some Biden administration officials have been concerned that using seawater might not be effective and could endanger Gaza’s freshwater supply. Egypt in 2015 used seawater to flood tunnels operated by smugglers under the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, prompting complaints from nearby farmers about damaged crops.
But other U.S. officials say the technique might help destroy portions of the tunnel network. The Wall Street Journal has previously reported that flooding the tunnels with seawater was under consideration.
Military analysts have assessed that Israel hasn’t destroyed most of this tunnel network and that a variety of techniques will be needed to destroy or damage the underground system. In addition to the seawater, the Israeli military has sought to attack the network with airstrikes and liquid explosives, and by sending in robots, dogs and drones.
Israel’s military said it was intensifying operations underground in northern Gaza and beneath the southern city of Khan Younis, one of Hamas’s last strongholds. The underground labyrinth remains one of Israel’s main challenges to achieving its goal of destroying Hamas’s military capabilities both in areas it controls above ground and those where it so far hasn’t operated. The tunnels under the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border for example, analysts say, are used by Hamas to smuggle most of its weapons into Gaza.
Israel’s military has been reluctant to send soldiers underground, where they would lose their tactical firepower advantage and encounter booby-traps.
