Israel's Plan to Flood Hamas Tunnels With Seawater Concerns Experts—Here's Why

Israel's plan to flood Hamas tunnels with seawater concerns many experts. On Sunday, Dec. 17, the Israel Defense Forces claimed that they discovered the largest Hamas tunnel.

IDF leaders announced that this tunnel is located in the northern Gaza border. Some experts who allegedly saw the underground tunnel claimed that small vehicles could fit within it.

Now, many sources claim that Israel is planning to conduct a major flooding against these Hamas tunnels. But, environmental researchers explained why this is a bad thing to do.

Israel's Plan to Flood Hamas Tunnels With Seawater Concerns Experts

According to The Guardian's latest report, if Israel continues its alleged seawater flooding plan against Hamas tunnels, it could negatively affect Palestinians and other people in the Gaza Strip.

This is because flooding the Palestinian terrorist group's underground tunnel network could greatly ruin the basic conditions for life in the city. Experts said that ruining basic conditions for life is one of the elements of genocide.

Although Israel hasn't officially committed to the reported flooding plan, environmental experts are already warning the Israeli government since it could lead to an ecological catastrophe.

They said that this would leave Gaza without any drinkable water, as well as devastate the available agriculture in the 141-square-mile territory.

Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN special rapporteur for the right of water, said that the alleged flooding plan is quite similar to the legend of Romans. This is because history claimed that Romans salted the fields of Carthage to make their ancient rival's territory uninhabitable.

The rapporteur for human rights and the environment, David Boyd, also shared his opinion. He said that negatively affecting Gaza's remaining water supply would lead to catastrophic events that would greatly impact the environment and residents.

Israel Allegedly Testing Seawater Flooding Plan

(Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images) In this picture taken during a media tour organized by the Israeli military on December 15, 2023, soldiers visit a tunnel that Hamas reportedly used to attack Israel through the Erez border crossing on October 7. The Israeli army said on December 17, 2023, it had uncovered the biggest Hamas tunnel in the Gaza Strip so far, just a few hundred meters from the Erez border crossing.

CNN World recently reported that Israel already started flooding some Hamas tunnels using seawater. This alarming detail was shared by a U.S. official.

The authority claimed that Israeli leaders are carefully testing the alleged flooding method "on a limited basis." He added that if these tests become successful, Israel might ramp up their efforts to degrade the Hamas underground tunnel network.

As of writing, Israelis are reportedly unsure if their flooding plan will really work. The American official clarified that Israel is only testing this method in tunnels where no hostages are being held.