After 450 rockets were fired at Israel between January and July, 2014, Israel undertook Operation Protective Edge with two objectives: “restoring security to Israeli civilians living under Hamas rocket fire” and “dismantling the Hamas tunnel network used to infiltrate Israel.” According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Hamas entered Israel through tunnels four times. The IDF destroyed 32 terror tunnels, 14 of which had openings inside Israel’s borders. In recent years, the threat from the tunnels is an entirely new dimension of the terror emanating from Gaza. Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi writes:
“The attack tunnels create a new equation in the power balance between Israel and Hamas. They give Hamas an ability to infiltrate Israel and carry out strategic attacks involving mass killing, along with an ability to launch missiles from locations concealed within civilian population centers that serve, in effect, as human shields. Should Hamas retain in the future 20 tunnels, and dispatch 50 operatives in each, they could deploy 1,000 men behind Israeli lines. The tunnels would allow Hamas to wreak havoc if they are left in place.”
Hamas has not given up on this deadly strategy. It is important to remember that years ago Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh stated, “Thousands of fighters above ground and thousands of fighters underground have been preparing in silence for the campaign to liberate Palestine.” In the last couple of weeks, at least 9 Hamas operatives died while others were injured after two tunnels collapsed. Haniyeh proudly announced that they are rebuilding the collapsed cross- border tunnels. But tunnels are not the only way Hamas is trying to enter Israel. Several Gazans traveling to Israel for medical or business purposes have been pressured by Hamas to spy on Israel. The terror organization has also attempted to use fake medical passes to enter Israel and carry out attacks. Luckily, Israel arrested the two Hamas operatives who left an Israeli hospital. In 2015, Israel prevented 107 smuggling attempts from Gaza at the Erez border crossing on the Northern edge of the Gaza Strip, and 740 attempts at Kerem Shalom in the south.
Section 1279 of the congressional bill which is supposed to fund American defense spending (called National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016), authorizes the executive branch to collaborate with and invest in Israel’s tunnel-detection technology. Although the entire NDAA was vetoed by President Obama, the Department of Defense can still invest in Israel’s defense industry to keep both our countries safe. Investing in this technology would not only make Israel safer against Hamas’ terror plans, but also be applicable to prevent smugglers from using tunnels under the US-Mexico border. America and Israel are stronger together. Let’s do everything we can to keep it that way.
