from thefreeonline on 13 Dec, 2023 by HomeWorld News
With the lives of hostages at stake, Israel is trying to keep the war crime quiet
Flooding Gaza’s Tunnels with Seawater is War Crime – Russia Warns Israel
Israel flooding Gaza defense tunnels – WSJ
The Israeli military has begun pumping seawater into Hamas’ underground tunnel network beneath Gaza, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Israeli officials have refused to comment on the alleged operation, which could endanger the lives of more than 100 hostages and contaminate the strip’s water supply.
Israel’s military said its mission to destroy an estimated 500 kilometers (311 miles) of tunnels across the Gaza Strip will take months, causing a scale of urban destruction that make Gaza unlivable Bloomberg
Israeli soldiers show the media an alleged Hamas tunnel beneath Gaza City, November 22, 2023 © AP / Victor R. Caivano
Israeli forces began experimenting with flooding the tunnels after transporting powerful pumps into Gaza last month, the newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing US officials. Fully flooding the hundreds of miles of tunnels and bunkers beneath Gaza is expected to take several weeks, the report claimed.
A spokesperson for Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant refused to comment, stating that any military operations involving the tunnels are classified. However, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said last week that flooding the subterranean network was “a good idea, but I won’t comment on its specifics.”
Israel losing support over ‘indiscriminate bombing’ – Biden
The tactic is contentious in Israel. Relatives of the roughly 140 hostages still in Hamas’ captivity fear that flooding the tunnels will kill their loved ones, who are believed to be held in the passages.
In meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, freed hostages complained that the flooding would be a death sentence for those left behind, according to audio recordings published by Hebrew news site Ynet last week.
Biden points to Gaza hostages when asked about Israeli tunnel flooding reports and declines to answer
Questioned about the flooding operation, US President Joe Biden claimed on Tuesday that he has heard “assertions” that “there’s no hostages in any of these tunnels. But I don’t know that for a fact.”
US officials have, however, raised concerns that pumping large amounts of seawater underground could contaminate Gaza’s limited freshwater resources. Prior to the conflict with Israel, around 90% of the enclave’s drinking water came from groundwater wells, according to the Palestinian Water Authority.
The remainder came from local desalination and wastewater plants – which cannot operate without fuel – as well as Israeli pipelines, which Israel shut off immediately after Hamas’ October 7 attack.
READ MORE: Israel used US-made white phosphorus munitions in Lebanon attack – WaPo
From Israel’s perspective, filling the tunnels with water is preferable to sending troops beneath the ground to face armed militants and booby traps. While Israeli forces control much of Gaza City in the north of the strip and some of Khan Younis in the south, “the problem is Hamas is going underground,” former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told the Wall Street Journal.
Even in the areas that Israel has taken, “the subterranean [theater] continues to be the challenge,” retired Israeli colonel Miri Eisin told the newspaper.
The Free 