Hamas rebuilds Gaza City tunnels, IDF halts underground op. fearing hostages present

As many as 10,000 terrorists are understood to be hiding out in Gaza City.

Hamas has rebuilt much of its network of underground tunnels in Gaza City, a security source told N12 on Friday.

The IDF has reportedly now paused some underground operations, suspecting that hostages may be held in the tunnel shafts and military actions may endanger their lives.

The tunnels have added to the growing list of challenges faced by the military in the densely populated Gaza City, according to the report.

Hamas has been accelerating the process of booby-trapping buildings with explosives.

Once a building used by Hamas is destroyed, the terrorists relocate to a residential structure and commandeer the floors of apartment buildings occupied by Gazan civilians.

Officials estimated to the Israeli news site last week that as many as 10,000 terrorists were hiding out in Gaza City.

Hostage safety fears as IDF proceeds with Gaza City operations

The terror group has openly admitted to holding hostages in the city, and threatened that military action there would endanger the lives of those being held.

“Your hostages are scattered within the neighborhoods of Gaza City, and we will not be concerned for their lives as long as Netanyahu has decided to kill them,” Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement published on Thursday. “The initiation of this criminal operation and its expansion means that you will not retrieve any hostage, neither alive nor dead.”

The controversial decision to proceed with operations in Gaza City has been criticized by a number of hostage families, who fear that such operations may cement the fate of the 20 living hostages.

Despite their anxieties, US President Donald Trump defended the move on Friday, claiming the hostages “might be [at greater risk]. They also may be freed because of that…War, a lot of strange things happen. A lot of results take place that you never think were going to happen.”