TEL AVIV, January 30. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed than a number of tunnels used by the Hamas radical Palestinian movement in the Gaza Strip were flooded.

"Cleared for Publication: During the war, the IDF has implemented new capabilities to neutralize underground terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip by channeling large volumes of water into the tunnels," the IDF said.

According to the IDF, the technology was developed "in a professional capacity, including analysis of the soil characteristics and the water systems in the area to ensure that damage is not done to the area's groundwater." "The pumping of water was only carried out in tunnel routes and locations that were suitable, matching the method of operation to each case," it added.

"This project was developed following combat procedures, accelerated force-building efforts, and while training forces with technological expertise. This tool is one of a range of capabilities developed by the IDF and Israel’s security establishment in recent years in order to operate against Hamas' underground infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. These efforts against Hamas include air strikes, underground combat operations, and special operations with technological assets," the IDF said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.