Documents from Gaza reveal details of Hamas’s tunnel combat tactics – report

Documents found by the IDF in Gaza have revealed the painstaking training of Hamas terrorists for combat in the terrorist organization’s tunnel network, as well as more details about its fortification, The New York Times reports, citing the documents, which included a handbook written in 2019.

The manual instructed terrorists on how to hide and locate tunnel entrances, as well as navigate them quickly.

“While moving in the dark inside the tunnel, the fighter needs night-vision goggles equipped with infrared,” the report quotes the document, written in Arabic, as stating.

The instructions added that in order to deliver maximum damage in battle with Israeli soldiers, weapons should be fired on automatic, while held at shoulder height.

“This type of shooting is effective because the tunnel is narrow, so the shots are aimed at the kill zones in the upper part of the human body,” the manual said.

Another document found by the IDF showed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar approved blast doors to be installed in the tunnel network to protect it from airstrikes and ground assaults, the report said.

The majority of the $225,000 for the project was dedicated to fortifying tunnels in northern Gaza and Khan Younis, both of which have been hotspots of fighting between the IDF and Hamas, the report says.

Another document seen by the publication was a letter written by Sinwar to the organization’s since-eliminated military commander, Muhammad Deif, detailing the expense and intricacies of creating the tunnels.

A military spokesperson tells the paper that IDF soldiers found details in the tunnels that were consistent with the instructions and information found in the documents.