Life in the Gaza metro: Tech, tunnels, and the terrain of conflict

Life in the Gaza metro

In the mid-2000s, after Israel withdrew its troops and restricted the Gaza Strip, Hamas rose to power. Its stated aim is to erode Israel’s military presence, stockpiling weapons, training militants, and periodically firing rockets at settlements. Israel maintains air superiority over Gaza and has consistently demonstrated this by striking ground targets when necessary.

To avoid airstrikes, Hamas shifted its focus underground. What began as smuggling tunnels evolved into a sprawling network of bunkers, corridors, and hidden stations that keep distributing means of warfare and communication.

Israeli assessments describe Hamas’s core infrastructure as largely subterranean, including command centers, barracks, medical facilities, weapons depots, and hostage sites tied to the October 7 attacks. Journalists refer to these hidden routes as the “Gaza metro,” a web of tunnels linked by passages that often exit into basements, courtyards, or vacant plots. Some routes are designed for ambushes, allowing fighters to pop out of tunnels close to roads and strike approaching forces.

Estimated tunnel length reaches roughly 500 kilometers, according to Hamas sources.

Many passages lie just below the surface, while major tunnels run as deep as 30 meters and can reach beyond 70 meters. They can be destroyed by heavy bunker-buster munitions if their exact location is known, but locating hidden tunnels remains a formidable challenge. Hamas reportedly guards the coordinates tightly, forcing Israel to rely on advanced technology to detect underground corridors. This task is exceptionally complex and demands cutting-edge tools.

Hyperspectral eyes over the conflict

SpyTalk describes a comprehensive reconnaissance system that leverages hyperspectral cameras mounted on drones. Traditional cameras capture red, green, and blue light to form color images. Hyperspectral sensors extend this by recording hundreds of spectral ranges, from mid-IR to ultraviolet, enabling a view into a material’s chemical composition and internal structure. This richer data stream helps distinguish subtle differences that ordinary cameras miss.

With such sensors, surface information becomes more informative. They reveal features not visible to the naked eye, including clues about materials and processes beneath the ground, potentially indicating tunnels or reservoirs of gases.

Normally, neither infrared radiation nor visible light penetrates deeply into soil, so surface data alone is limited. Some sources claim these sensors, when combined with drones, can identify underground cavities, detect fumes from explosives, and monitor human respiration via carbon dioxide emissions. Socialbites.ca sought independent validation of these claims.

From the ground to the air — how researchers look down

Initial impressions suggest optical sensors alone struggle with soil opacity. Carbon dioxide escaping from people beneath the surface is tiny at typical atmospheric levels, though slight shifts can occur above tunnels. Unique Vitold Pozhar, a leading light in acoustic-optical information systems, notes that ambient changes in carbon dioxide can be detected under controlled laboratory conditions by analyzing spectral changes in the air. Drone footage, he adds, tends to be noisy, and distinguishing underground activity from natural CO2 fluctuations remains challenging. Still, spotting irregular shapes can aid tunnel detection.

From a top-down view, tunnels would appear as elongated lines with branching patterns. If a hyperspectral scan shows a CO2 trail aligned with a possible tunnel and the line intersects plausible tunnel sites, confidence in a subterranean structure rises. Pozhar also suggests that experimental digging could reveal ground alterations above a tunnel, guiding algorithmic improvements for future searches. He cautions that these ideas are speculative and that some claims about Israeli techniques may overstate what is currently possible; radar in the microwave spectrum may play a larger role in practice.

A second perspective from a Russian expert contends that indirect signs–such as vegetation changes above an underground void–could indicate tunnel presence. Concrete-reinforced walls alter moisture flow, which can influence plant growth visible in hyperspectral data. This line of reasoning resonates with agricultural uses of similar imaging to gauge soil moisture. Both experts view hyperspectral imaging as part of a broader toolkit rather than a standalone detector of tunnels.

Radar, robots and underground drones

Veteran researchers and analysts emphasize that ground-penetrating radar (GPR) remains a cornerstone. GPR emits signals into the ground and analyzes reflections to identify materials and voids, including metal and concrete, which can signal a tunnel. Yet the effectiveness of GPR diminishes when mounted on airborne platforms due to distance and signal degradation.

Israel’s special forces also employ mobile drilling rigs to probe or disrupt tunnels, and in some cases explosives or other devices may be used to access or seal off subterranean routes.

Once a tunnel is located, units equipped for underground operations may deploy navigation tools and thermal imaging to navigate darkness. They rely on a mix of drones to map passages, using techniques such as lidar or high-contrast imaging to build 3D models of underground structures. Ground vehicles with weapons and remote control systems enhance reconnaissance, while trained dogs remain highly effective for detecting explosives and human scent in confined spaces.

In some scenarios, engineers consider interventions like guided anti-bunker bombs to breach tunnels. These weapons are designed to penetrate substantial soil or concrete before delivering explosive payloads. Alternative options include blocking exits with tailored charges or heavy equipment.

Public discussions have also referenced sponge-like materials intended to seal tunnels when other options are unsuitable. The idea involves introducing soft, expanding substances that harden to create a barrier. While such concepts exist in military literature, real-world effectiveness varies and is subject to ongoing evaluation. Despite rapid advances in technology, preventing or dismantling Hamas tunnels continues to be a demanding and evolving challenge, with both sides adapting tactics and countermeasures over time.