{"id":19854,"date":"2025-04-16T18:00:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T15:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=19854"},"modified":"2025-04-16T16:19:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T13:19:03","slug":"hamas-tunnel-network-shrinks-as-idf-expands-control-of-gaza-to-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/hamas-tunnel-network-shrinks-as-idf-expands-control-of-gaza-to-40\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamas Tunnel Network Shrinks as IDF Expands Control of Gaza to 40%"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The IDF currently controls roughly 40% of the Gaza Strip and has eliminated about 25% of Hamas\u2019s tunnel network. This update was provided today (Wednesday) by Yoni Ben Menachem, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. At the same time, he described a complex situation on the ground: \u201cWe\u2019re stuck in the hostage deal because of decisions made by the cabinet,\u201d Ben Menachem said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A significant operational achievement<br \/>\n<\/strong>Ben Menachem noted that while the IDF\u2019s control over 40% of the territory is indeed a significant operational achievement, most of that area is \u201cempty land,\u201d and direct clashes with Hamas fighters have largely been avoided so far.<\/p>\n<p>He added that about 25% of Hamas\u2019s tunnel system has already been destroyed, but roughly 500 kilometers of underground infrastructure remain under Hamas\u2019s control. \u201cDuring the ceasefires, the organization managed to restore parts of the tunnels that had been damaged,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cHamas\u2019s military wing, along with about 20,000 armed terrorists, are still in the tunnels underground \u2013 and we\u2019re barely hitting them,\u201d Ben Menachem added.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19857\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19857\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19857 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/winning2-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/winning2-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/winning2-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/winning2-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/winning2-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/winning2-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19857\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yoni Ben Menachem | Photo: Kobi Gideon \/ Flash90<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe must not give a green light to Iran\u2019s nuclear program\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong>Ben Menachem also warned of possible developments in U.S. policy toward Iran, stating that the Trump administration could repeat past mistakes. \u201cIt seems the Iranians want a deal, but they won\u2019t give up their red lines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that the process of enriching uranium from civilian to weapons-grade (90%) is quick and dangerous, and he urged Israel to apply diplomatic pressure on the White House. \u201cWe must make it clear, in a friendly way, to President Trump that giving a green light to this nuclear program is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the criticism, security officials stress that the operation in Gaza is ongoing, achieving steady gains, advancing on the ground, and delivering precise strikes against Hamas infrastructure \u2014 all with a clear objective: to dismantle enemy capabilities and bring the hostages home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The campaign continues: The IDF controls 40% of the Gaza Strip and has destroyed around 25% of Hamas\u2019s tunnel system. Still, hundreds of kilometers of underground terror infrastructure remain active.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":19856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,6],"tags":[2424,1477,2337,1475,1539,1529,4279,1984],"class_list":["post-19854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-idf","category-security","tag-gaza-strip","tag-hamas","tag-hostage-deal","tag-idf","tag-iran","tag-israeli-security","tag-jerusalem-center-for-public-affairs","tag-tunnels"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.7 (Yoast SEO v24.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Hamas Tunnel Network Shrinks as IDF Expands Control of Gaza to 40% - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hamas Tunnel Network Shrinks as IDF Expands Control of Gaza to 40%\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The campaign continues: The IDF controls 40% of the Gaza Strip and has destroyed around 25% of Hamas\u2019s tunnel system. 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