JERUSALEM – At the end of a kilometer-long, booby-trapped tunnel in the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers discovered cramped cells where the military said Hamas kept about 20 hostages. They found a holding area, five narrow rooms behind metal bars, toilets, mattresses, and even drawings by a child hostage who was freed during a November truce, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. The military released photos from the underground labyrinth and said it brought in journalists to document the tunnel before it was destroyed. “The soldiers entered the tunnel where they encountered terrorists, engaging in a battle that ended with the elimination of the terrorists,” Hagari said. Others are among the more than 130 captured during Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage through southern Israel that are still in Gaza.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 20, 2024 22:49 UTC