Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told a group of reporters in Tel Aviv, Israel, he believes the long-anticipated ground offensive in Gaza will be a long and difficult process, underscoring the challenge of destroying the notorious network of tunnels that Hamas has built underground.
Gallant outlined the difficulty of the invasion, saying it “will take a long time.”
He said he expects it to lead to another phase of lower-intensity fighting as Israel destroys “pockets of resistance.” He showed aerial footage of what he described as a tunnel shaft built next to a hospital and said the tunnels often originate in civilian areas. These claims could not independently be verified.
Hamas’s tunnel system has been described as Israel’s “hidden front line,” and much is unknown about the underground system. The tunnels represent a major challenge to Israel, which has said it aims to drive out Hamas and retrieve hostages following the terror group’s devastating attack earlier this month.
In addition to the vast tunnel system, Hamas’s tactics of setting up launch sites in residential buildings and hospitals, its practice of dressing in plain clothes to blend in with civilians and the dense population in Gaza pose great challenges to Israel ahead of a potential ground invasion.
Israeli airstrikes in recent weeks have killed thousands of civilians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-backed Gaza Health Ministry. The United States has cast doubt on the accuracy of the death toll, but the ministry, in response, has released a detailed list identifying thousands of residents of Gaza it says died in the strikes.
Hamas has also launched a series of airstrikes against Israel, but the Iron Dome, Israel’s rocket defense system, has intercepted many of them. One missile on Friday, however, hit a residential building in Tel Aviv, wounding four people.
On Oct. 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on the southern border of Israel, killing at least 1,400 people and igniting the current conflict. At least 229 people were taken hostage.
The Associated Press contributed.
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