After the end of the cease-fire, Israel stepped up its campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Us media broke the news that Israel is considering flooding Hamas tunnels with seawater.

The Wall Street Journal on Dec. 4 quoted U.S. officials as saying Israel has assembled a large system of pumps that could be used to fill tunnels used by Hamas in the Gaza Strip in an effort to flush the militants out.

Around mid-November, the Israeli army installed at least five pumps about a mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp, capable of pumping thousands of cubic meters of water per hour and flooding the tunnels within weeks.

Us media: The Israeli military is considering flooding Gaza tunnels with seawater, hostages may still be inside

It is unclear whether Israel is considering using the pumps before all the hostages have been released. Hamas has previously said it was hiding the hostages in safe places and tunnels.

Israel informed the United States of its plans in November, but Mr. Netanyahu's government has not made a final decision.

The Biden administration has been divided, with some officials expressing concern about the Israeli plan and the contamination of Gaza's soil and water sources, while others have expressed support for Israel's efforts to destroy the tunnels.

After the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian war, Israel launched a ground operation in Gaza to completely eliminate Hamas. But Hamas's intricate tunnel system poses a huge challenge for the Israeli military in the Gaza war.

The underground maze, estimated to stretch hundreds of kilometers, is Hamas' greatest strategic advantage and the heart of its infrastructure.

Many experts believe Hamas will be eliminated only if most of the tunnels are destroyed. The Israelis are clearly planning a water offensive to achieve this.

Hamas and Israel recently held a brief ceasefire, and Hamas released several groups of hostages, but it still holds a large number of hostages.