Inside the Gaza terror tunnel Hamas used to launch one

SHUJA-IYYA, Gaza City — This is the tunnel that Hamas terrorists used to launch their devastating Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Kibbutz Nahal Oz — killing more than 60 soldiers and 15 civilians in one of the bloodiest clashes of the attack.

And it was this same tunnel — a mile and a half long “a city under a city” in the Gaza Strip — that the terrorists used to escape and hide the 18 hostages they took from the Kibbutz.

Three years after the massacre that left more than 1,200 people dead, the IDF gave journalists an in-depth look inside the massive tunnel systems discovered less than half a mile from Nahal Oz.

“It is hard to imagine, but it [the tunnel] is all connected and goes back to [Gaza City],” an IDF commander in the southern Gaza Strip told reporters.

The outside of the tunnel laid inconspicuous in what is now a leveled-area, with a screen door leading to the underground network below.

The tunnel entrance itself was equipped with a massive, reinforced door that was designed to slow IDF soldiers’ entry while allowing Hamas terrorists to escape through another exit, the commander said.

Inside, the barracks were equipped with a bathroom, several rooms with air conditioning, a working water system, and sleeping quarters that could accommodate Hamas terrorists for many months.

“Many thousands [of Hamas terrorists] could live in the tunnels,” the commander added.

Like many of the other tunnel networks, this one consisted of a long and narrow stone hallway with wires overhead that allowed electricity to flow throughout the base.

There were also lights on the side of the walls to illuminate the passageway and pipes carrying water across the tunnel.

The eerie, dark corridors of the tunnel were where Hamas dragged 18 victims after invading Nahal Oz and unleashing one of the bloodiest massacres of the day, according to an IDF commander.

The terror group kidnapped seven people from the kibbutz itself, including female soldiers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, who were featured in Hamas propaganda before being released in early 2025.

The women were pictured bloodied and injured as they were forced to sit across from the bodies of their fellow soldiers who were slaughtered in the surprise attack, with the terrorist caught on film threatening to rape the captives.

The IDF base at Nahal Oz had numerous security cameras, which captured how the soldiers were overwhelmed by hundreds of Hamas terrorists who poured into Nahal Oz in the span of 15 minutes.

Once the base was taken, Hamas rampaged inside the neighboring village, livestreaming the slaughter and kidnapping of its citizens using their victims’ phones.

Harrowing images soon emerged of dozens of bodies on the ground, bloodied cribs and children’s rooms, and whole houses that were burned down in the attack.

The assault on Nahal Oz was dubbed a “system failure” by the IDF as its 162 soldiers on post were unable to respond to Hamas’ invasion.

Israeli military officials believe that some of the Israeli hostages may have been held in the newly discovered tunnel during the war in Gaza.

The IDF commander estimates that Israel has destroyed at least 32 miles of Hamas’ tunnel network on his watch since the war began, but it could “take years” to dismantle the more than 300 miles remaining beneath Gaza.

Along with a tour inside the tunnel, the IDF also escorted journalists to a military post inside of Gaza overlooking the ancient city of Deir al-Balah.

IDF officials said that there are “no Palestinians inside the IDF-controlled territory,” which represents nearly 70% of Gaza.

Despite the IDF’s control over the majority of the Palestinian enclave, fighting continues with Hamas terrorists — who targeted an engineering vehicle with a roadside bomb just days before the tour, officials said.

While a fragile cease-fire has kept all-out war from continuing in Gaza, Hamas is allegedly using the relative peace to bolster their forces.

Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

“Hamas is doing everything to rebuild,” an IDF official from a Gaza Strip military post said. “A Gaza boy at the age 15 [in 2023] is now recruitable.”

The IDF also brought reporters to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, located near the Gaza border and where IDF spokeswoman Rona Epstein, 22, was raised.

Epstein said she lost her brother and several family members during the Oct. 7 terror attack, with the kibbutz losing 64 residents, including infants and children.

Her brother, Netta, dove on a Hamas grenade to protect his girlfriend, Irene Shavit, who was found alive by responding IDF soldiers as she hid beneath Netta’s body, Epstein recalled.

Kfar Aza, which once had some 1,000 people living and even employed Gazans to try to bridge peace between the two groups, now only has 200 residents and volunteers.