Flooding Hamas tunnels could destroy Gaza's last water source

Pumping seawater into Hamas’s 480-kilometer vast underground tunnel network could destroy Gaza’s only source of water and cause harm to local and Israeli agriculture, according to at least one expert.

Clive Lipchin, director of the Center for Transboundary Water Management at the Arava Institute, told The Jerusalem Post that using seawater to help destroy Hamas’s underground labyrinth is an effective military technique but not one without environmental impact.

“If we flood the tunnels with seawater, the question is to what degree that seawater will infiltrate into the groundwater,” Lipchin explained. “The concern is that the seawater would mix with the groundwater and increase the salinity of the groundwater. 

“This groundwater, which comes from the coastal aquifer, is the only water source accessible to Gazans within the territory of the Gaza Strip.”

Even before the war, the groundwater in Gaza was scarce and polluted because of over-pumping that led to seawater intrusion, agricultural run-off, and wastewater contamination. 

According to a report by the NGO B’Tselem, 96.2% of household water from the aquifer is non-potable. Consequently, a significant portion of the population in Gaza depends on private water tankers and small-scale desalination facilities for their drinking water needs.

Moreover, Lipchin said, the seawater would likely percolate into the soil and impact the Gazan’s ability to have productive agriculture. He noted that the seawater could also get into Israel’s water system since the country also uses the coastal aquifer, especially for agriculture in the Western Negev. Therefore, it could impact Israel, too. 

“Seawater is pollution,” Lipchin said.

Israel has begun flooding terror tunnels 

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Israel was in the early stages of flooding some parts of the tunnel network with seawater from the Mediterranean based on reports by an unnamed US official who was briefed on the Israeli military operations.

Previous reports have said that this would be a tactic that Israel would use, among others, such as airstrikes, drones, robots and other explosives.

In 2015, Egypt flooded the tunnels between Rafah and Sinai with seawater and sewage to help them crack down on weapons and drug smuggling across the border. Lipchin said it was effective.

“As a military strategy, flooding the tunnels makes sense as one of the ways to deal with the issue. From a military standpoint, it works,” he admitted, noting that most alternative solutions are no better and potentially more dangerous, such as sending soldiers inside.

However, Lipchin added that flooding the tunnels could trap hostages inside if they are there.

“There are always other issues to consider beyond the military strategy,” he said.