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NEW: HAMAS BUILT UNDERGROUND CAGES IN GAZA TO HOLD HOSTAGES AS HUMAN SHIELDS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Israeli officials discovered a new series of cages built by Hamas underground in Khan Younis to hold hostages as human shields. Intelligence collected near the 12 newly discovered hostage cages suggests “Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and other top Hamas leaders used these hostages as human shields to protect them from IDF attacks,” according to the Jerusalem Post. The report indicates Hamas spent “millions of shekels” to create the deep tunnels underground where the cages were discovered, and built them with “unique capabilities” that allowed the terrorists “to manage the war with Israel” while they used the hostages as human shields.
KEY EXCERPTS
- In this case, there were cages for 12 hostages, nine of which are still held by Hamas, and three of which were returned to Israel during the November 23-30 hostage exchange deal.
- . . . The cages were only found after delving deep into a very extended tunnel with a variety of defenses until arriving at an unusually large space with many Hamas terror management functions, including the cages for the hostages.
- IDF intelligence estimates that Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and other top Hamas leaders used these hostages as human shields to protect them from IDF attacks. Millions of shekels were invested in these special underground spaces to outfit them with unique capabilities, including the cages, and to manage the war with Israel.
- IDF intelligence is unsure how many more such spaces there may be, though, at this point, the IDF has said it has nearly achieved operational control of Khan Yunis, and it had already achieved such control in Gaza City over a month ago.
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