The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a tunnel discovered beneath the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip was used by Hamas to hold Israeli hostages.
The tunnel was connected to an underground system of other underground passages under a civilian area in Khan Younis and had “ventilation, electrical supply and plumbing systems”, the IDF highlighted in a statement on Thursday (11).
“After investigating the tunnel, it can be confirmed that Israeli hostages were inside,” they added.
The note adds that Israeli forces found more than 300 tunnel shafts, “some leading to significant tunnels, tactical shafts and underground areas that are used as weapons storage facilities and combat areas.”
A CNN cannot independently confirm which hostages were held in these tunnels.
CNN team visits tunnels
A team from CNN was taken to a tunnel under Khan Younis by the Israel Defense Forces earlier this week.
The journalists went down several flights of stairs and saw a small room in the underground tunnels and a working bathroom about 20 meters underground.
The Israeli military has already released statements about the discovery of tunnels made by Hamas, which Hamas called “an integral part of the resistance.”
In another IDF statement on Thursday, the military said that thousands of tons of concrete and metal were used to build hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels in the territory. A CNN cannot independently verify this claim.
Source: CNN Brasil
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