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Footage reveals intricate two-level Hamas HQs where 5 hostages' bodies were found

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Eerie video surfaced Sunday revealing the intricate two-level underground headquarters of Hamas’ Northern Brigade where the bodies of five hostages were found.

The footage, released by the Israeli army, shows off the massive underground hub discovered dozens of meters deep in Gaza’s Jabaliya neighborhood, which has seen some of the most intense fighting of the war in recent weeks.

The video features Israeli soldiers first uncovering a weapons stash hidden inside a building — which houses an elevator shaft to the complex tunnel system below.

The entire network was more than a square third-of-a-mile in size and stretched beneath a nearby school and hospital, connecting to the home of the former leader of Hamas’ northern brigade, Ahmed Ghandour, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, the Times of Israel said.

The IDF found weapon-making stations inside a large, two-level tunnel beneath Jabaliya. IDF
The tunnel system ran beneath a Gaza school and hospital. IDF

The tunnel system had a working full bathroom, as well as other toilets, a water cooler area and workshop stations containing scores of rifle ammo.

The tunnel was destroyed by the IDF days ago after the army completed its scan of the area and announced that the Hamas Jabaliya battalion had been broken.

The IDF conducted a raid to gain access to the tunnel system after intelligence reports earlier in the month indicated that the bodies of at least two hostages were located in the Jabaliya area.

The entrance was located beneath a building holding a trove of explosives and weapons. IDF

The IDF then recovered the bodies of  Ziv Dado, 36; Eden Zacharia, 27; Nik Beizer, 19; Ron Sherman, 19; and Elia Toledano, 28, from the tunnel network.

Dado, Golani Brigade warrant officer, was killed during the terrorist attack Oct. 7, and Zacharia was one of the hostages who was abducted from the Nova festival during the Palestinian terror group Hamas’ raid on Israel that day.

Beizer was a corporal with the IDF, and Sherman a sergeant, with both soldiers kidnapped along the Gaza border Oct. 7.

Near the tunnel, Israeli forces recovered the body of hostage Elia Toledano. Family handout

Toledano was another attendee at the Nova festival who was separated from his friend and fellow French-Israeli citizen Mia Schem, one of the more than 100 hostages freed in November.

The destruction of the Jabaliya tunnel came as the IDF blew up a similar, massive tunnel system located underneath Palestine Square in Gaza’s upscale Rimal neighborhood.

The Gaza City tunnel was where officials believe Hamas’ top Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar and military chief Muhammad Deif were operating in when their forces stormed Israel on Oct. 7, slaughtering 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 240 others.

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Martina Birk

Update: 2024-05-14