IDF reportedly begins pumping seawater into Hamas terror tunnels in Gaza

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the IDF has begun pumping seawater from the Mediterranean Sea into the terror tunnels of the Gaza Strip. 

CNN also reported that Israel had begun flooding some of the Gaza tunnels “on a limited basis” to assess the effectiveness of the strategy as it attempts to clear Hamas from the tunnel system without endangering IDF soldiers. 

The CNN report said Israel is testing the flooding technique in tunnels where it does not believe any hostages are being held. 

The IDF has installed several pumps north of the al-Shati refugee camp to pump the seawater, with each one able to pump thousands of cubic meters of seawater per hour into the tunnels. 

The flooding method will be done slowly, to assess its effectiveness, according to the report.

Israel is becoming hesitant to send soldiers in to clear the tunnels due to the difficult nature of fighting in confined spaces and extensive booby traps. 

At the same time, Hamas uses the tunnels for storing rockets and military equipment, which would be damaged during the flooding, rendering them inoperable, making this an effective strategy. 

It is believed that Israel will first attempt flooding tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip, where it controls most of the territory. 

If the technique is effective, it could be utilized in the southern Gaza Strip as well. 

While there are concerns about the safety of the hostages, Israel appears to believe that Hamas would remove any Israeli captives from the tunnels to use for further bargaining. 

Israeli and IDF officials have so far refused to comment on the tunnel flooding strategy.

Russian representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said last week that Israel taking such action could be considered a war crime. 

“War crimes are snowballing — shocking reports have been circulated in recent days that Israel plans to flood underground facilities in the Gaza Strip with seawater,” Polyansky said at the UN last week. 

However, Israel is not the first nation to use the tunnel-flooding technique in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt has fought a years-long battle with Hamas against illegal smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

In 2015, Egypt flooded several tunnels from Gaza running under the Rafah border crossing that were being used for smuggling. 

On the other hand. environmentalists are concerned that flooding the terrorist tunnel network will damage the freshwater aquifers around Gaza and southern Israel, which are used for agriculture.