The Secret, the Darkness, and the Resistance

How can this strategic doctrine succeed or be implemented in a very small, surrounded, and besieged geographical area, with open skies and a terrain without rugged topography or mountains? The secret lies within the earth. The imbalance of power between a state with high defensive capabilities, internationally strong intelligence capabilities, and solid alliances with the dominant empire makes surface confrontation a suicidal operation. Accessing the underground renders all these military and intelligence capabilities useless. Since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza, Israel has employed its most powerful weapon—the aerial bombardment. It has succeeded to a large extent in destroying everything on the surface, be it stone or human, but this powerful weapon that drew deterrence lines between the entity and its Arab neighbors seems incapable of overcoming any resistance unless it happens to be on the ground, engaged in a combat situation or facing soldiers directly.

These tunnels, dug while Yahya Sinwar was in prison, were not his invention, but today he manages the battle through them with clear control over leadership and control. Perhaps the genius of Mohammed Deif is behind this underground city in the heart of small Gaza. He realized early on, since the failure of the Second Intifada, that surface confrontation seemed futile. Exploiting the disengagement policy implemented by Sharon since 2005, he extended the network of tunnels horizontally and vertically, improving their quality. Underground defense aims to mislead the enemy and force it to advance, luring it into a new battlefield, disrupting conventional conflict standards, and hindering face-to-face confrontations. The use of underground warfare instills terror in the enemy ranks and imposes a barrier on courage itself because human fear of an unpredictable danger exceeds fear of a greater known danger. With the presence of the resistance underground, it becomes non-existent for the enemy on the other side of the front line, perhaps beneath their feet, capable of emerging from anywhere without being detected in advance. Hence, we see videos released by the occupation, showing its soldiers fighting a hole or a wall or a pile of rubble, firing at ghosts they sense in the location without them being visible.

As Sun Tzu describes in 'The Art of War': 'The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them.' The brilliance in these wars lies in doing great things with limited means in the face of an enemy with unlimited resources.

The second aspect of the tunnel's symbolism, as a space for resistance and its incubator, is the idea of borders. Unconventional warfare imposes the principle of resilience on the resistance. The resistor is not an individual in a regular army with the luxury of withdrawal but derives their entire existence from resilience on the ground. Borders, in the horizontal space of the Earth's surface, represent the dividing line between friend and foe at the core of politics, as defined by Carl Schmitt. In irregular warfare, like the ongoing one in Gaza, borders mean nothing to the resistance. Because the essence of the battle is resilience, whether above or below ground, the tunnel enables this resilience and mitigates the imbalance of equilibrium.

The last aspect is the enemy's perspective on this matter. In his autobiography, Netanyahu talks about the tunnels in a chapter titled 'Tunnels 2014,' describing the operation to uncover the threat of tunnels penetrating Israeli territory. In addition to the actions taken, he says: 'In the two years preceding Operation Tzuk Eitan (Protective Edge 2014), I called on various technological units in the IDF several times. I said: We must find a way to identify the tunnels and their exact location. I personally contacted heads of states and directors of multinational companies, including satellite companies, in search of a solution. And we didn't find one. On June 17, we began the ground phase of the operation. Infantry forces entered the sector and discovered a larger number of tunnels than expected, which were neutralized using explosives, water hoses, and cement injections. The mission was complicated as designed. Instead of three days, it took three weeks to complete (...) I was determined, along with most ministers in the government, to complete the mission and destroy the tunnels. When our forces achieved the goal, I reconvened the cabinet. I issued a decision to withdraw ground forces from the sector. And now that the mission of neutralizing the tunnels is over, there is no reason to expose them to danger. I informed the ministers of what I had agreed upon in advance with Gantz and Ya'alon.' Netanyahu shows great confidence in his ability to shatter the tunnel myth, especially those leading into Israel. Then he lists his talents in breaking the backbone of the resistance by talking about the underground barrier project along 70 km of the border with Gaza, which he believed would serve as an effective shield against future attack tunnels, at a cost exceeding one billion dollars. Here, two factors contribute to the failure of this project: first, Netanyahu's arrogance, believing that the barrier would shield him from the cost of imprisoning over two million people in a narrow rectangle without a horizon, and second, the resistance's ability to produce the unexpected, the essence of the art of war. It does not repeat its operations in a predictable manner, guided by Sun Tzu's advice: 'Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.' Thus, Israel always expected the attack to come from underground, but this time it came from above