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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are deploying dogs and robots into Hamas’ underground tunnels instead of troops, as they continue their ground operation with the aim of annihilating Hamas.
According to Bloomberg on the 16th (local time), the IDF is using advanced technology to search and destroy the tunnels, including the Al-Shifa Hospital, and to track the Hamas leadership.
This is to minimize human losses, given the high likelihood that Hamas has set up booby traps and the fact that the exact structure of the Hamas tunnels, estimated to total 310 miles, is unknown.
The IDF is sending combat dogs, unmanned vehicles, and robots into the tunnels to survey the structure. They are also using ‘sponge bombs’ that swell and harden into a solid mass rather than exploding when thrown into the tunnel, blocking entrances and crevices.
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The Israeli Ministry of Defense has requested cooperation from various companies, including the Israeli company ‘Asteria,’ which detects sewer leaks through satellite images, to introduce such technology.
The IDF has specially trained combat engineers. However, there is a risk of booby traps exploding and the knowledge of the tunnels is less than that of Hamas, so entering the tunnels is still considered dangerous.
Itamar Yaar, a former deputy chairman of the Israeli National Security Council, said, “There’s no need to go into the tunnels without a special reason,” and “The best method is to collapse the tunnels and separate the underground facilities.”
However, there are skeptical views on whether Hamas, hiding in the underground space, can be completely eliminated without deploying troops.
Daphne Richmond Barak, an underground tactics expert at Israel’s Reichman University, warned that without deploying ground troops, it would be difficult to confirm how much of the tunnel was destroyed by bombing, and the tunnels could still be used for long-term resistance after the war.
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