This is an idea that I proposed on social media before the Israeli counteroffensive even began in earnest, though I received some admittedly valid pushback against it. The most dangerous and daunting part of the effort to eradicate Hamas is the need to clean out the network of more than 800 terror tunnels they have constructed under Gaza. They are dark and provide plenty of cover for the terrorists to ambush IDF forces when they enter. They also provide rapid escape routes if the fighting turns against the Hamas militants. As an alternative, I suggested a process of flooding the tunnels and monitoring the exits that Israel has mapped to see who comes out. Now Israel has not only proposed the same plan, but they’ve already constructed massive seawater pumps that would be able to put it into effect. (NY Post)

Israel is considering flooding Hamas’ underground network of tunnels in Gaza with ocean water as part of its plan to completely decimate the terrorist group that rules over the Palestinian territory, according to a report.

The Israel Defense Forces assembled at least five pumps that could be used to draw water from the Mediterranean Sea to then flush out the tunnels within a matter of weeks, US officials told the Wall Street Journal.

The military completed the system, built about one mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp, around the middle of last month, according to the paper. Each pump has the power to move thousands of cubic meters of water per hour into at least 800 tunnels used by Hamas to move through Gaza without detection.

Israel reportedly hasn’t made a decision to go ahead with the plan yet, though the pumps are in place and the operation could be launched in a matter of weeks if they do. The number one consideration that might hold them back is the one that was pointed out to me when I first suggested it. ‘What about the hostages?’

It’s a fair point. Death by drowning in a dark tunnel that is flooding with seawater would certainly be awful. Of course, being held captive by terrorists for months on end in a dark tunnel is no picnic either. But at this point, we have no way of knowing how many of the remaining hostages are even alive, assuming any of them are. Hamas stopped releasing hostages, which is why the fighting has resumed. Stories are circulating that Hamas won’t release female hostages because they don’t want them telling people what was done to them. If that’s the case, Hamas may have already “silenced” them permanently.

There are secondary concerns over the flooding plan being weighed as well. Dumping that volume of seawater under the ground in Gaza could render the small amount of potable groundwater they have undrinkable, worsening an already critical shortage. The underground water would likely also become toxic when it mixes with whatever waste and industrial material the terrorists have been storing down there. It’s also possible that such a flood would weaken the earth beneath surface structures, potentially leading to the collapse of buildings.

Personally, I wouldn’t be all that worried about those concerns if I was the Israeli government. Bad things happen in war and those would simply be additional bad things. And Gaza is almost a wasteland at this point anyway. A few more collapsed buildings won’t make that much of a difference.

The primary concerns for Israel are probably the hostages first, as already noted, followed by international public perception. Would flooding the tunnels be viewed as “a step too far” or an act of barbarism? By Israel’s many detractors, no doubt it would. And Bibi Netanyahu is already under immense pressure to “limit civilian deaths” from many quarters, including the United States. (Particularly our Middle East affairs expert, Kamala Harris.)

We shouldn’t lose sight of the other side of the argument, however. There would be a number of significant upsides for Israel in pursuing this plan. First, they would likely lose far fewer IDF soldiers than if they were forced to fight their way through 800 tunnels yard by yard. Also, once the tunnels are flooded, the entire footing of the war would be changed. It would take ages to drain the tunnels and make them usable by Hamas again. In the meantime, the rats would be forced to the surface where they would have to engage the IDF directly and in the open. It may just be possible to truly wipe out Hamas entirely, which has been Netanyahu’s goal since October 7. But as long as some of the fighters might remain hidden underground, they could still rebuild once the fighting eventually ends. It’s a complicated and difficult decision Israel is facing, but I’m personally not going to fault them if they decide to go ahead with it.