Israel is considering flooding Gaza tunnels with seawater, says the WSJ

Israel has reportedly set up a significant network of pumps with the potential to flood tunnels utilized by the militant group Hamas beneath the Gaza Strip.

The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, stated on Monday that Israel has positioned at least five pumps approximately one mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp by mid-November.

These pumps are capable of moving thousands of cubic meters of water per hour, with the intention of inundating the tunnels within a matter of weeks.

The report did not clarify whether Israel would activate the pumps before the release of all hostages, as Hamas has claimed to have concealed captives in secure locations and tunnels.

The details of Monday’s report could not be independently verified by Reuters.

In response to inquiries about the story, a U.S. official mentioned that it would be logical for Israel to render the tunnels nonfunctional, and the country was exploring various methods to achieve this.

Requests for comments from Israel’s defense ministry went unanswered at the time of reporting.

The Wall Street Journal stated that an official from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to comment on the flooding plan. However, the official was quoted as saying, “The IDF is working to neutralize Hamas’s terrorist capabilities through different military and technological means.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Israel informed the United States of this option last month. Officials were reportedly unaware of how close Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was to implementing the plan.

The decision to proceed with or abandon the plan has not been finalized by Israel, as per the statements from the cited officials.