THE IDF CONTINUES TO DESTROY HAMAS TUNNELS

IDF reveals how five hostages held captive by Hamas were found dead in the group's terror tunnels - as Israeli military posts new video unveiling deadly underground labyrinth

 

By Eirian Jane Prosser 

Daily Mail

Dec 24, 2023

 

Footage released by the IDF shows a dark network of tunnels said to be more than 32ft below the ground

 

Israel's military has released footage showing the inside of what it says is a huge Hamas tunnel where five of its hostages, taken on October 7, were found dead.

The clip shows IDF soldiers standing in the dark, crowded around the entrance of the underground labyrinth said to be lying more than 32ft below schools and hospitals in the city of Jabalia, north of the Gaza strip.

Eylon Levy, spokesperson for Israel's armed forces, said the passage was 'Hamas' northern underground headquarters in Gaza', adding that since it was discovered the military had carried out an 'extensive operation to dismantle' it.

He said the bodies of three soldiers - Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, Sergeant Ron Sherman and Corporal Nik Beizer - as well as Eden Zacharia and Elia Toledanon - taken from the Nova festival - were discovered at the site earlier this month.

In a statement published on X this evening Mr Levy said: 'The IDF has completed an extensive operation to dismantle Hamas' northern underground headquarters in Gaza, revealing underground infrastructure where IDF soldiers discovered hostages’ bodies.

 

Eylon Levy, spokesperson for Israel's armed forces, said the passage was 'Hamas' northern underground headquarters in Gaza'. Pictured: IDF soldiers praying near the site of the tunnel entrance where five Israeli hostage are said to have been found 

 

'In fierce battles to secure the Hamas stronghold of Jabalia, the IDF exposed a strategic tunnel network that served as Hamas' northern headquarters in Gaza. The first level was 10m deep under the city, the second dozens of meters deep.'

'In the Hamas underground terror network, the IDF recovered the bodies of five 10/7 hostages: Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, Sergeant Ron Sherman, Corporal Nik Beizer, Eden Zacharia, and Elia Toledano. May their memory be a blessing,' he added.

In the footage released by the IDF's official social media account, soldiers can be seen praying around the tunnel for the Israelis they had discovered.

Toledano, 28, was snatched from the Nova music festival in Southern Israel on October 7. He was taken across the border with his friend Mia Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli tattoo artist.

Schem spent 54 days in captivity, forced by Hamas to appear in a propaganda video demanding her release and saying she was being well treated, until she was released in November.

Tragically, the IDF announced they had found the body of her friend. It did not say how or when Toledano died.

 

Elia Toldeano, 28, died in Hamas captivity in Gaza, the IDF has announced

The body of Eden Zecharya, 28, was said to have been found in the tunnel by the IDF earlier this month

Zecharya and her boyfriend Ofek Kimhi, 23, who was killed with 230 others during the Nova festival attack

 

It came days after the military had announced that the body of 27-year-old Zacharia, who had also been taken from the festival, and army Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, 36, had been found.

Zakaria had travelled to the Nova festival with her boyfriend Ofek Kimchi, 23, who was killed in the attack which left more than 260 dead.

Dado had served as a logistics supervisor in the Golani Brigade's 51st Battalion.  

Beizer, hailing from Be'er Sheva, and Scherman, from Lehavim, were two other IDF soldiers who were taken hostage while serving in Gaza. 

The tunnel is the latest in a series the IDF has said it has found and destroyed.

Earlier this week dramatic footage released by the IDF appeared to show a large explosion in the 'Elite Quarter' of Gaza City, north Gaza Strip.

The military said it had 'exposed the terrorist infrastructure' under the city late Wednesday, revealing 'bureaus belonging to Hamas' senior military and political leadership'.

'The network of tunnels was destroyed in a controlled manner,' the IDF said in a statement shared on Telegram with the footage.

 

Beizer (R) hailing from Be'er Sheva, and Scherman (L) from Lehavim, were both IDF soldiers who were taken hostage while serving in Gaza. Their bodies were also recovered in the tunnel

Warrant officer Ziv Dado, 36, (pictured) who had served as a logistics supervisor, was also found dead in the tunnel, the IDF said

Footage showed the 'Elite Quarter' of Gaza City levelled by explosions on Thursday

 

It came as an investigation by The Washington Post published on Thursday said there was 'no immediate' evidence rooms connecting Gaza's al-Shifa hospital to tunnels were used for military purposes by Hamas.

Earlier today Israel announced that 14 of its soldiers killed on Friday and Saturday died in battles in central and southern Gaza.

According to Israeli Army Radio, four soldiers were killed when their vehicle was struck by an anti-tank missile. The others were killed in separate, sporadic fighting.

Another soldier was killed in northern Israel by fire from the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah, which has kept up low-level fighting with Israel since the war with Hamas erupted, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.

Their deaths bring the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the ground offensive began to 153.

Hamas kidnapped around 250 hostages during its October 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,139 people, according to official figures. 

Since Israel began its retaliatory strike against the Gaza Strip, more than 20,000 people mostly women and children, have died, while a further 50,000 have been injured.