IDF reveals vast terror tunnel used by Hamas to kidnap 18 Israeli soldiers and civilians on October 7

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

And it is this same tunnel – a kilometer 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 had taken from the kibbutz.

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

“It’s hard to imagine, but everything (the tunnel) is connected and goes back to (Gaza City),” an IDF commander in the southern Gaza Strip told reporters.

The exterior of the tunnel was unobtrusive 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 designed to slow the entry of IDF soldiers while allowing Hamas terrorists to escape through another exit, the commander explained.

Inside, the barracks were equipped with a bathroom, several air-conditioned rooms, a working water system, and dormitories that could house Hamas terrorists for several months.

“Thousands (of Hamas terrorists) could be living in the tunnels,” the commander added.

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

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

It was through the dark, eerie corridors of the tunnel that Hamas dragged 18 victims after invading Nahal Oz and unleashing one of the bloodiest massacres of the day, according to an IDF commander.

The terrorist group kidnapped seven people from the kibbutz itself, including female soldiers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, who 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 comrades massacred in the surprise attack, with the terrorist filmed threatening to rape the captives.

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

Once the base was taken, Hamas went on a rampage inside the neighboring village, live-broadcasting the massacre and kidnapping of its citizens using their victims’ phones.

Harrowing images quickly emerged showing dozens of bodies lying on the ground, bloodied cribs and children’s bedrooms, and entire homes set ablaze in the attack.

The assault on Nahal Oz was called a “system failure” by the IDF because its 162 troops on duty were unable to respond to the Hamas invasion.

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

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

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

IDF officials said there were “no Palestinians inside IDF-controlled territory,” which makes up nearly 70 percent 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 ceasefire has prevented all-out war from continuing in Gaza, Hamas is reportedly using the relative peace to bolster its forces.

“Hamas is doing everything to rebuild,” said an IDF official from a military post in the Gaza Strip. “A boy from Gaza aged 15 (in 2023) is now recruitable. »

The Israeli army also brought journalists to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, located near the border with Gaza and where Israeli army spokeswoman Rona Epstein, 22, grew up.

Epstein said she lost her brother and several family members in the October 7 terrorist attack, with the kibbutz losing 64 residents, including infants and children.

His brother, Netta, dove on a Hamas grenade to protect his girlfriend, Irene Shavit, who was found alive by IDF soldiers while hiding under Netta’s body, Epstein recalled.

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