More than 60% of Hamas tunnels were left undestroyed during the war, Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed to US Vice President JD Vance during his visit to Israel, according to a Friday N12 report.
The remaining tunnels are located on both sides of the yellow line, the marking that signals the IDF’s partial withdrawal following Israel’s ceasefire deal with Hamas. This means that tunnels still remain in the area where the IDF is currently operating.
Katz said that “demolishing the tunnels is the most important joint mission in demilitarizing Gaza in accordance with the Trump plan."
He added that “we must return all the remaining hostages, eliminate all the tunnels, take the weapons from Hamas, and ensure that Hamas will not be a ruling factor in Gaza.”
The IDF reported six months ago in internal security discussions that the Israeli military had only destroyed about 25% of Hamas’s tunnels in the Gaza Strip, according to N12.
Hamas acquired weapons smuggled from Egypt
The military also estimated that at the time, there were a significant number of smuggling tunnels crossing from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, causing concern of weapon distribution to Hamas. Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, however, would not prevent smuggling, warned the security officials.
According to Senior INSS researcher Ofir Winter, part of Hamas’s military buildup before October 7 came from Egypt. Israel now faces the challenge of formulating new and reliable security arrangements for monitoring the Philadelphi corridor, he added.
Israel has made attempts to bolster security cooperation with Egypt. On October 21, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Hassan Rashad, Egypt’s intelligence chief, for talks focused on Gaza and border security.