PICTURES have emerged appearing to show Israeli troops setting pumps and pipes close to the sea as they look to flood Hamas's tunnel network.
The Israeli army has installed at least five large pumps in Gaza that could fill the 300-mile underground labyrinth in a matter of weeks.
It would also flush out or down Hamas terrorists using the sprawling maze as a hideout following the horror October 7 massacre.
Israeli authorities vowed to wipe out the terror group following the attack two months ago that saw more than 1,200 brutally slaughtered.
Army chiefs have now devised a plan to use seawater to flood Hamas's tunnels amid the mission.
Photos are understood to show dozens of Israeli soldiers above ground preparing huge pipes and pumps by the shore.
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Other images claim to show troops working on pipes.
The pumps are capable of flooding the vast underground maze within weeks by pouring in thousands of cubic metres of water per hour from the Mediterranean Sea, reports The Wall Street Journal.
US officials said Israel alerted American authorities about its plan last month.
It is understood a decision has not yet been made on whether to go ahead.
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But unverified footage appears to show tunnels already being filled with water.
Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi this weeksaid flooding the tunnels could be a good idea and that it was one of a number of options being considered.
The IDF has said it already has destroyed hundreds of tunnel sections during the war.
It is unclear if flooding the tunnels with seawater could threaten Gaza's already overtaxed underground freshwater aquifer or potentially damage soil with salt and hazardous materials.
The terror group claims the sprawling underground labyrinth stretches some 500km – bigger than the London Underground which is 402km long.
Hidden up to 100ft below the surface, the entrances are enclosed under the floors of homes, mosques and schools – allowing fighters to move unseen between homes and alleyways within Gaza.
It is used by the warped group to transport people and goods as well as store rocks and ammunition.
The tunnels are understood to be connected to launch pits where rockets have been fired from towards Israeli areas.
Hamas's command and control centres are also housed in the intricate system away from Israel's watch.
And it's understood the entire network is heavily laden with booby traps and homemade bombs.
Each tunnel is reinforced with concrete and some are so narrow fighters are unable to stand up in them.
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Others, however, are much more spacious – allowing terrorists to run through them and transport weapons and contraband.
They are extremely difficult to detect from the air and have long frustrated Israel's military as despite being armed with top-of-the-range equipment, they have so far been unable to wipe them out.
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