A CNN reporter was given a tour of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror tunnel in the Gaza Strip, providing the US network with an up-close glimpse into the workings of the subterranean network created in the Hamas-ruled enclave.
“We use them as a shield against heavy missiles fired by F-35 and F-16 aircraft, as well as helicopters, so that our fighters can move and play their role to defend the Palestinian people” one Islamic Jihad member, Abu Abdallah, tells CNN, with his face covered.
Clip from CNN report on Islamic Jihad tunnel
(מתוך CNN)
“Don’t be afraid. God is with you,” Abdallah is filmed telling fellow terrorists, before reciting verses from the Qur'an.
The reporter, Ian Lee, also gives his impression of the tunnels, which have been dug by terror groups to carry out attacks in Israel and have also proven effective conduits for smuggling arms.
“It’s hot, humid, narrow and low-hanging. It feels claustrophobic … Israel has a different name for them: terror tunnels,” Lee says in the video that was published on Sunday.
The reporter is then blindfolded before being driven on to the next site of his tour. Standing beside a mortar launching system, Lee is briefed by Abdallah.
“He’s telling me this weapons system here has the range of about 4-6 kilometers. It was recently used against Israel,” Lee says, before Abdallah is then interviewed again.
“The world hears the conflict only through Netanyahu’s voice. We try to make it hear us through the sound of these simple missiles, to say that we are here, we have land, we are human beings. We want to live in dignity,” he says.
After highlighting a recent incident in which an Israeli kindergarten was struck by one of the projectiles from Gaza ,Lee asks Abdallah why his organization targets Israeli civilians.
“The world needs to know, that the resistance never plans to target children,” Abdallah says, later adding that his terror movement receives support from Iran.
“Israel is proud of its support from the United States, and we are proud of Iran’s support of the Palestinian resistance on the moral and logistical level. There is nothing wrong with it and it not a secret,” he says.