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Video Shows Hamas Has Rebuilt the Tunnels in Gaza

A year after war with Israel, Hamas' armed wing released a video showing off their renewed military capabilities and reconstructed tunnel infrastructure.
Imagen vía Youtube

Hamas, the militant Islamist group based in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, published a video showing the group conducting training exercises amid reconstructed underground tunnels.

Hamas released the video on Wednesday, on the one year-anniversary of the end of Israel's war in the Gaza Strip last summer.

In the slickly-produced video, camouflaged members of Hamas' armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, are shown traveling through concrete tunnels and conducting training exercises.

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In the video, fighters practice shooting at targets and take occasional breaks to pray on the battlefield or in the tunnels. It also shows medical workers practicing emergency care on wounded fighters.

The video is Hamas' latest display of their efforts to reboot their armed wing and show off their overall military strength after being battered during the Israeli onslaught last summer.

Earlier this week, Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, said they captured a Hamas member in July who gave detailed information about Hamas' military operations, including reconstructed tunnels leading into Israel and support from Iran.

The fighter told Israeli intelligence officers that Hamas has been rebuilding tunnels that were destroyed by Israel last year to use for sneak attacks across the border. He also gave information on Hamas' battlefield strategy and surveillance capabilities, reported the Jerusalem Post.

Related: In Photos: Life in Gaza a Year After the Ceasefire

In July, Hamas told Iranian television they had built another new tunnel that they were planning on using to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks in the future. It is not clear if this is the same tunnel network Wednesday's video purports to show.

Hamas has also been steadily building up troops and carrying out training exercises near the Israel-Gaza border in recent months, according to a report by the Times of Israel. The report details the extensive training exercises Hamas has been conducting for infantry and urban warfare tactics that are similar to Israel's own military exercises.

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In July, one year after the start of the Gaza war, the Israeli military announced a new military strategy based on findings from last summer's war if another large-scale armed conflict erupted with Hamas in the future. The new approach, said Israel, would be to shorten the overall length of conflict and focus on efforts to destroy Hamas' military wing.

Related: Gaza's Instability Has Created a Fertile Breeding Ground for the Islamic State

Last summer's Operation Protective Edge lasted for 50 days and left more than 2,000 Palestinians dead, the majority of whom were civilians. Israel said the operation was in response to Hamas rocket fire and efforts to carry out cross-border attacks.

Earlier this week, Hamas' political leader Khalad Meshal told British newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed in an interview that negotiations for a long-term ceasefire deal with Israel "look positive."

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