RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — One by one, soldiers squeeze through the narrow entrance of a tunnel in southern Gaza. Inside the dark hallway, some ducked their heads to avoid hitting the low ceiling, watching their step as they walked over or around jagged concrete, crushed plastic bottles and scattered mattresses.
On Monday, Israel’s military took journalists to Rafah, a city at the southern tip of Gaza that the army captured last year and has largely leveled – as the 2-month-old Israel-Hamas ceasefire reached a critical point. Israel has barred international journalists from entering Gaza since the war began more than two years ago, except for rare, brief military-supervised visits like this one.
Soldiers took reporters inside the tunnel, which they said is one of Hamas’ most important and complex underground routes, connecting cities in the war-torn region and used by top Hamas commanders. Israel said Hamas had placed the body of a hostage in an underground passage: Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old soldier who was killed in Gaza more than a decade ago and whose remains were kept there.
Goldin’s body was returned by Hamas as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the October 7, 2023 war that the rebels launched in an October 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and took hundreds hostage. Israel’s retaliatory attacks have killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but said women and children accounted for nearly half of the dead.
Israel and Hamas are in the process of ending the first phase of the ceasefire, which forced the return of all hostages, living and dead, in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel. The body of one hostage has yet to be returned.
Mediators have warned that the second phase will be more challenging because it involves thorny issues such as the disarmament of Hamas and Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip. Israel currently controls more than half of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to travel to Washington this month to discuss those next steps with US President Donald Trump.
Piles of garbage on the streets of Rafah
Last year, Israel launched a major operation in Rafah, where many Palestinians sought refuge from attacks elsewhere. Heavy fighting has destroyed much of the city and displaced nearly one million Palestinians. This year, when the army largely controlled the city, it systematically destroyed most of the buildings that were standing, according to satellite photos.
The army also took control and closed it Essential Rafa CrossingGaza’s only gateway to the outside world not controlled by Israel.
Israel says Rafah is the last major stronghold of Hamas and a key war target for destroying the group’s military capabilities.
On a drive around Rafah on Monday, towers of shattered concrete, wire and twisted metal lined the streets, with some buildings still standing and none safe. Remnants of people’s lives were scattered on the ground: foam mattresses, towels and a book explaining the Koran.
Last week, Israel said it was ready to reopen the Rafah crossing but only to allow people to leave the strip. Egypt and many Palestinians fear that once people leave, they will not be allowed to return. They say Israel is forced to open the crossing in both directions.
Israel has said it will not allow all hostages in the Strip to enter Gaza until Israel receives them.
Inside the tunnel
The tunnel through which the journalists were escorted led beneath a once densely populated residential area, a United Nations compound and mosques. Today, Rafah is a ghost town. Underground, reporters picked their way around dangling cables and uneven concrete slabs covered in sand.
According to the military, the tunnel is more than 7 kilometers (4 miles) long and 25 meters (82 feet) deep and was used for long-term living as well as weapons storage. It is said that top Hamas commanders were there during the war, including Mohammed Sinwar – who is believed to run Hamas’s armed wing and is the younger brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who helped mastermind the October 7 attack. Israel says it killed them both.
“What we see here is a perfect example of all the money and equipment that Hamas has brought into Gaza all year,” said Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani. “Hamas has taken it and built an incredible city underground for the purpose of terror and keeping the bodies of hostages.”
Israel has long accused Hamas of siphoning off money for military purposes. While Hamas says Palestinians are an occupied people and have the right to resist, the group also has a civilian arm and runs a government that provides services such as health care, a police force and education.
The military has not decided what to do with the tunnel. It can seal it with concrete, explode it or capture it for intelligence purposes among other options.
Since the ceasefire began, three soldiers have been killed in clashes with nearly 200 Hamas fighters that Israeli and Egyptian officials say are underground in Israeli-held territory.
Hamas has said that communication with its remaining units in Rafah has been cut off for months and that it is not responsible for any incidents in those areas.
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeatedly violating the agreement in the first phase. Israel accuses Hamas of delaying the return of hostages, while Palestinian health officials say 370 Palestinians have been killed in continuous Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect.
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Editor’s note: This article was submitted for review by Israel’s military censor, who has not made any changes.
