---
title: "Hamas tunnels and evidence of military activity at civilian sites"
description: "Hamas has used tunnels along the Egypt border to smuggle weapons and other goods. Separately, a UN Secretary-General’s report verified military use of a Gaza health center by Hamas’s Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades in 2023."
url: "https://hasbara.co.il/resources/gaza-under-hamas-governance-economy-and-militarization/the-gaza-metro-hamas-subterranean-warfare-and-infrastructure"
type: "resource-page"
locale: "en"
categories: ["Gaza Under Hamas: Governance, Economy, and Militarization"]
---

# Hamas tunnels and evidence of military activity at civilian sites

*Hamas has used tunnels along the Egypt border to smuggle weapons and other goods. Separately, a UN Secretary-General’s report verified military use of a Gaza health center by Hamas’s Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades in 2023.*

Hamas has used tunnels beneath the Egypt-Gaza border to move weapons and other goods into Gaza. Tunnels are also a major part of Hamas’s military infrastructure: in 2021, Gaza Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar claimed the wider network exceeded 500 kilometers, a figure reported at the time by [the Times of Israel](https://www.timesofisrael.com/like-fighting-ghosts-the-challenge-the-idf-faces-in-destroying-hamass-tunnels/).

## Border tunnels and military supplies

Tunnel routes under the Egypt border enabled smuggling that helped arm Hamas. The [Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ account](https://www.fdd.org/analysis/hamas-tunnels-to-egypt-played-key-role-in-arming-hamas/) describes the border network’s role in bringing weapons and other contraband into Gaza. The Egypt-border routes are distinct from estimates of the much larger tunnel network inside Gaza; Sinwar’s 500-kilometer figure was Hamas’s own claim.

## What the UN verified at a health center

The UN Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict covering 2023 verified one incident of military use of a health center in Gaza by Hamas’s Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The incident appears in the report’s account of grave violations affecting children; it is a specific documented case, not evidence that every civilian site was used for military purposes. The [UN report](https://www.un.org/unispal/document/unsg-report-children-and-armed-conflict-2023-3jun24/) provides the incident record.

Hamas’s tunnels and military activity at a civilian facility are separate documented issues: one concerns underground supply and military infrastructure, the other a specific verified incident. A distinct example of a concealed military input in commercial cargo is covered in [the Ashdod shipment account](https://hasbara.co.il/resources/gaza-under-hamas-governance-economy-and-militarization/hamas-rocket-networks-and-dual-use-material-diversion).

## Pages

- [How Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007](/resources/gaza-under-hamas-governance-economy-and-militarization/the-2007-hamas-takeover-and-coup-in-gaza.md)
- [How Hamas governs Gaza and suppresses dissent](/resources/gaza-under-hamas-governance-economy-and-militarization/hamas-s-authoritarian-rule-and-suppression-of-dissent-in-gaza.md)
- [How Hamas raises revenue from Gaza trade and taxes](/resources/gaza-under-hamas-governance-economy-and-militarization/hamas-diversion-of-humanitarian-aid-in-gaza.md)
- [The 2023 Ashdod seizure of rocket-related material bound for Gaza](/resources/gaza-under-hamas-governance-economy-and-militarization/hamas-rocket-networks-and-dual-use-material-diversion.md)
- [Hamas youth camps and military training for minors](/resources/gaza-under-hamas-governance-economy-and-militarization/hamas-s-systematic-radicalization-and-recruitment-of-gaza-s-youth.md)

## Sources

- [fdd.org](https://www.fdd.org/analysis/hamas-tunnels-to-egypt-played-key-role-in-arming-hamas/)
- [timesofisrael.com](https://www.timesofisrael.com/like-fighting-ghosts-the-challenge-the-idf-faces-in-destroying-hamass-tunnels/)
- [un.org](https://www.un.org/unispal/document/unsg-report-children-and-armed-conflict-2023-3jun24/)