The Israeli army announced on 10 July 2025 that its forces had located and dismantled an underground tunnel route belonging to Hamas in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, saying the tunnel extended for approximately 500 metres and reached a depth of about 13 metres. The army said the operation was carried out by troops from the Golani Brigade, operating under the command of the 36th Division, in cooperation with military engineers from the Yahalom unit, which specialises in engineering missions, including dealing with underground structures and routes.
Official discrepancy over the depth of the discovered tunnel
The circulating announcement about the operation said the tunnel was approximately 14 metres deep, while the official statement issued by the Israeli army put its depth at about 13 metres. Both figures indicate that the discovered route was nearly 500 metres long and located in the Khan Younis area.
According to the Israeli army’s account, the forces worked to dismantle the tunnel route after locating it and examining it in the field. The statement did not describe the route as crossing the borders of Gaza, but placed it within Hamas’s infrastructure network inside the area of operations in Khan Younis.
The army added that Golani Brigade troops killed dozens of militants during the week preceding the announcement and dismantled more than 130 sites and military structures above and below ground. According to the statement, the sites included weapons depots, booby-trapped buildings, observation posts and launch sites that the army said were directed towards its forces.
According to the Israeli army, the tunnel operation formed part of the military activity carried out by its forces against Hamas sites in Gaza, particularly underground structures, weapons stores and sites used for observation and firing.
