The moment I drop to my hands and knees at the mouth of the tunnel, a jolt of hesitation hits me.
I know that once I move forward, there’s no easy way to turn back.
The narrow opening leads into one of Hamas’s vast underground systems—places I’ve heard about for years but never imagined walking through myself.
A few metres in, I’m able to straighten slightly, grateful for the first time in my life to be just 5ft 4in.
Anyone taller would be half-crouched the whole time.
Even so, the ceiling is low enough that my head still makes painful contact with it more than once.
A Claustrophobic, Stifling Underworld
Inside, the space is barely wider than my shoulders. My arms can’t extend fully.
Without my torch, I’d be walking blind, face-first into the walls.
The air feels thin and hot—within minutes, my lungs tighten, and I struggle to record a video without my voice breaking.
This tunnel is silent now, but my instincts keep warning me to back out.
The thought that hostages survived months—some nearly two years—in this suffocating darkness is impossible to process.
What Hostages Endured Down Here
More than 250 hostages were kept in tunnels like this. Many never saw daylight.
Food and humanitarian supplies intended for civilians were allegedly seized by Hamas and eaten in front of prisoners who were left hungry and dehydrated. Sanitation was almost nonexistent.
Some captives were held in cages. Others were assaulted in cramped hideouts.
Bodies of those who died were found with curved spines—warped from being unable to stand for over a year.
This very network concealed the remains of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, one of Israel’s longest-missing soldiers.
He was killed at 23 during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, just moments after a ceasefire was supposed to begin.
His family waited more than a decade for word of his body, finally able to bury him only last month thanks to new intelligence.
Touring the Maze With the IDF
I’m here as part of a small group of international reporters, brought by the Israeli military to see this section of tunnels under Rafah in southern Gaza.
The scale is overwhelming: a 7km labyrinth with 80 hideouts running beneath a tightly packed residential neighbourhood near the Philadelphi Corridor on the Egyptian border.
Just metres away stands a building used by UNRWA, the UN agency Israel accuses of employing Hamas operatives.
Surrounding it are schools and mosques tied to the organisation.
According to the IDF, senior Hamas commander Mohammad Shabaneh once used this very route.
Meanwhile, the military says nearby tunnels are still active and that fighting continues underground despite the ceasefire.
Claims, Counterclaims, and Ongoing Battles
Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.
Israel rejects those numbers and says it is responding to Hamas breaches.
The IDF reports killing or capturing around 40 fighters in Rafah’s tunnels recently, with others intercepted as they tried to escape dwindling supplies.
The military believes hundreds of Hamas operatives may still be moving through networks like these and warns us to stay alert as we walk.
Civilians Still Paying the Price
Even with a ceasefire technically in effect, Gaza’s civilians continue to suffer the most.
Israeli airstrikes still occur, and Hamas-run health authorities say tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
Homes have been wiped out, neighbourhoods abandoned, and families uprooted again and again.
Despite this, Hamas maintains an iron grip on the Strip, executing rival groups publicly.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently announced that the first stage of the UN-backed peace plan is nearly done.
The next phase—Hamas’s disarmament—is supposed to follow.
Down here in the tunnels, that idea feels impossibly distant.
Hostages Still Missing
A key requirement of the October 10 ceasefire was the return of every hostage, alive or dead.
Yet Israel still waits for one final captive: Ran Gvili, a police officer killed during the October 7 attacks.
Despite suffering a broken shoulder, he confronted the gunmen head-on.
His body has never been recovered, and his family clings to faint hope.
His mother, Talik, says Israel cannot truly heal until he comes home—an ache shared by families of all hostages.
A Leadership Void for Gaza’s Future
Even if Hamas disarms, what comes next remains murky.
This week, Tony Blair—once considered a candidate to oversee a transitional administration for Gaza—was reportedly dropped after objections from Arab and Muslim governments.
His close ties to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts made him contentious.
With no alternative yet announced, Gaza’s political future remains suspended in uncertainty.
Standing in the Darkness, Wondering What Comes After
Walking through these suffocating tunnels, it’s impossible to imagine Hamas voluntarily surrendering its underground strongholds.
And from the surface, the sheer task of finding and dismantling every tunnel seems almost unachievable.
Whatever the eventual political roadmap looks like, the suffering held within these cold chambers will not fade quickly.
The war may one day end, but the memories etched into these walls—and into everyone who lived, fought, or was imprisoned in their shadows—will last long after the dust settles.
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