The IDF said Tuesday it completed a major engineering operation in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza, dismantling more than 11 kilometers, or about 7 miles, of underground tunnel routes used by Hamas.
The operation was carried out over several months by troops from the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, under the command of the 252nd Division.
IDF forces demolish massive underground tunnel network in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza
(Video: IDF)
The IDF said the forces operated in Beit Hanoun, east of the so-called "yellow line" ceasefire demarcation, to dismantle Hamas infrastructure above and below ground and bolster defenses for communities in the western Negev, which borders Gaza.
The military said Beit Hanoun was one of the main and most complex combat zones in northern Gaza during the war. Troops fought Hamas operatives in the sector and worked to defeat the terrorist group’s Beit Hanoun Battalion. IDF soldiers were killed in the fighting, the military said.
12 View gallery
IDF troops coordinate during operations in Beit Hanoun, where the military says forces dismantled Hamas tunnel networks and infrastructure built over two decades, in a handout photo released Tuesday
(Photo: IDF)
12 View gallery
An IDF soldier takes position inside a damaged building in Beit Hanoun during operations targeting Hamas infrastructure in northern Gaza, in a handout photo released Tuesday
(Photo: IDF)
According to the IDF, Hamas spent years turning Beit Hanoun into a major stronghold, embedding military infrastructure in residential areas, under homes, schools, mosques, public institutions and roads. The military said the area was known to Gazans as Hamas’ “northern fortress.”
Security officials said Beit Hanoun had long been used to launch rocket barrages and anti-tank missiles at Israeli communities. They said the town was also the origin point of a deadly tunnel attack during the 2014 Gaza war, in which four IDF soldiers were killed, and that hundreds of terrorists set out from the area during the Oct. 7 attack after using it as a military staging ground.
12 View gallery
IDF troops operate drilling equipment during a monthslong engineering mission to locate and destroy Hamas tunnels in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, in a handout photo released Tuesday
(Photo: IDF)
As part of the latest operation, troops carried out hundreds of engineering missions, using advanced technology and systematic drilling to locate hidden tunnel routes and rule out the existence of additional tunnels in the area. The IDF said more than 11 kilometers of underground routes were found and destroyed, along with hundreds of above-ground Hamas infrastructure sites.
The military said an additional 3 kilometers of tunnels were dismantled in Beit Hanoun earlier in the war, bringing the total destroyed in the area to about 14 kilometers, or nearly 9 miles.
The IDF said Beit Hanoun is now under its operational control within the yellow line and that Hamas infrastructure there has been eliminated. The military said completing the mission marked a significant step toward improving protection for western Negev communities and preventing another attack like Oct. 7.