Israel has announced plans to eliminate all remaining Hamas tunnels beneath Gaza once the ongoing hostage release process is completed. The operation, according to Defence Minister Israel Katz, will be carried out under an international framework led by the United States, which brokered the current ceasefire.
“Israel’s great challenge after the hostage release phase will be the destruction of all Hamas terrorist tunnels in Gaza,” Katz said in a statement on Sunday, adding that he had directed the military to begin preparations for the mission.
The extensive tunnel network, built and operated by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, allows fighters to move and operate undetected by Israeli surveillance. Many of these tunnels have already been destroyed during the two-year conflict that began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, cross-border attack on Israel.
Under the US-backed ceasefire plan, the next phase envisions the disarmament and demilitarisation of Hamas. Katz said the tunnel destruction effort would take place within that framework.
Hamas has agreed to the first stage of the plan, which brought about the current ceasefire and is expected to see the release of 48 Israeli hostages—both living and deceased—on Monday. In exchange, Israel will release about 250 national security prisoners, including several linked to deadly attacks, and 1,700 Gazans detained by the Israeli military.
However, Hamas has so far resisted the disarmament component of the plan. Senior Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP that the second phase “contains many complexities and difficulties,” suggesting that significant challenges remain ahead in implementing the peace roadmap.
