Gallant says Hamas would use fuel supplies to bring air to tunnel network

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel expects to launch a ground offensive into Gaza soon that will be long and difficult, and aim to destroy a vast network of tunnels used by the territory’s Hamas rulers.

Gallant says the ground invasion will include large forces, backed by airstrikes, and “will take a long time,” without elaborating. He says it will be followed by a third phase of lower-intensity fighting, as Israel destroys ”pockets of resistance.”

Gaza hospitals have been scrounging for fuel to run emergency generators that power incubators and other life-saving equipment after Israel cut off all fuel deliveries to Gaza at the start of the war, forcing its only power plant to shut down.

Gallant says Israel believes that Hamas would confiscate any fuel that enters. He says Hamas uses generators to pump air into its hundreds of miles of tunnels, which originate in civilian areas. He shows reporters aerial footage of what he says is a tunnel shaft built right next to a hospital.

“For air, they need oil. For oil, they need us,” he says.