IDF says it will take months to locate all the tunnels across the Gaza-Egypt border

The IDF believes it will take many more months to complete the search for Hamas’s cross-border smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border. So far, around 25 tunnels have been located.

Combat engineers are currently meticulously sweeping the entire Gaza-Egypt border area in Rafah, while expanding the so-called Philadelphi Corridor by demolishing structures within about 800 meters of the border.

Many of the Hamas tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor area, including tunnels found within the area of the Rafah Crossing, go deep into Rafah, the Strip’s southernmost city.

The effort comes as the intensive stage of the offensive in Rafah is coming to an end.

The IDF is expected to continue working on locating the tunnels in Rafah, alongside other targeted raids across Gaza, until, in the event of a hostage deal, it may be required to withdraw from Gaza.

Meanwhile, Hamas’s Rafah Brigade is considered to be mostly dismantled at this stage, with all four of its battalions at a low level of competency, some slightly more than others.

During the Rafah operation, the IDF encountered entire neighborhoods that were booby-trapped by Hamas, and not just single buildings as it had seen in other parts of the Strip.

This, according to the IDF, was aimed at preventing troops from reaching tunnels beneath such buildings. In some cases, dozens of buildings were destroyed for the IDF to reach a hidden tunnel network.

The IDF says it isn’t counting each meter of tunnel it has destroyed, but rather focusing on the significant underground sites used by Hamas, such as command and control centers for senior officers in the terror group, weapon manufacturing sites, and communication centers.

The IDF is also working to locate Hamas’s attack tunnels that approach the Israeli border, as well as tunnel junctions that connect between various underground networks in the Strip.