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IDF Digs Up Hamas Lairs under Gaza City
(Times of Israel) Emanuel Fabian - Beneath Gaza City's central Palestine Square in the upscale Rimal neighborhood is an extensive warren of Hamas tunnels used by its top officials to hide from Israel. The commander of the IDF 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Benny Aharon, said all of Hamas' top officials, including Ismail Haniyeh, Muhammad Deif and Yahya Sinwar, had either offices or homes near the square, with personal tunnel shafts to the underground network, linking their hideouts, offices, and homes. The tunnel network featured blast doors and living quarters, and troops operating inside the tunnels found stores of food and water. Aharon said the tunnels' electricity for lighting, air circulation, and communications was largely powered by solar panels from nearby buildings. He added, "Every time you reach an area you discover more [Hamas] assets, and...to defeat an enemy it takes time, but relatively, in the time we've been here, we've achieved a lot."