Severe Rains In Gaza May Mean Terror Tunnels Are Flooded

Photo Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90

But will they sustain continued flooding by rain and sewer water?

The tunnels are dug 60–82 feet underground, usually through sandy soil requiring their roof to be supported by a more durable level of clay. The sand is so shifty, that the tunnels must also be reinforced by concrete panels, which are manufactured in workshops near to each tunnel, using cement imported by UNRWA for home construction.

So while the tunnels themselves may be durable enough, the sand around them is likely to erode in a severe flood. This may provide an opportunity for the Israeli military to go in on short missions, as it has been doing in the months since the end of the war, to take out individual tunnels as they are discovered.