[VIDEO] Footage of Hamas Raid Shows Why Israel Is So Freaked Out About Gaza Tunnels

For Foreign Policy, Elias Groll reports: Three weeks into deadly fighting in Gaza and along its border, Israeli forces have been surprised to encounter an extensive, sophisticated tunnel system that has been used by Hamas to infiltrate Israeli territory and carry out raids. The destruction of that tunnel system has become a focal point of Israeli military operations, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has emphasized that any cease-fire must allow his forces to continue identifying and sealing those tunnels.

To understand why these tunnels have become such a hot-button issue, one need look no further than a video released by Hamas by Tuesday, July 29. That video shows a group of fighters exiting such a tunnel and attacking an Israeli military installation. They appear to kill at least one Israeli soldier, though the combat footage is chaotic and not entirely clear. The fighters also make off with an X95 rifle, a sophisticated machine gun used by the Israel Defense Forces…(read more) Foreign Policy

Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images

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