World
Taking out Hamas’ million-dollar ‘root’ tunnel is game changer, analyst says
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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released a video showing what it describes as one of Hamas’s “most complex” underground infrastructures extending beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
According to the IDF, the seven-kilometer-long “root tunnel” runs roughly 25 meters underground, contains about 80 rooms and was used for command operations, weapons storage and sheltering Hamas operatives.
The video shared on X on Nov. 20 travels through reinforced concrete passageways and large chambers, showing the sophistication and scale of Hamas’s underground network.
The Israeli military claims the tunnel originated beneath a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) compound and stretched beneath civilian sites.
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“IDF troops uncovered one of Gaza’s largest and most complex underground routes, over 7 km long, ~25 meters deep, with ~80 hideouts, where abducted IDF officer Lt. Hadar Goldin was held,” the post read.
Israeli analysts say the demolition of this tunnel marks a strategic blow to Hamas and “paves the path to its defeat.”
“The destruction of this tunnel as well as many others like it or similar… as well as other terror facilities pushes Hamas to the edge,” said Professor Kobi Michael, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the Misgav Institute.
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The IDF uncovered one of Gaza’s largest underground Hamas infrastructures, stretching 25 meters deep beneath civilian sites, including mosques and schools in Rafah.
“It is one of the longest and [most] complicated tunnels that have been discovered, but it is not the only one,” he told Fox News Digital.
Michael explained that Hamas’ root tunnels form the backbone of its underground warfare system.
“This is an example of a root tunnel, a strategic one that feeds many tactic tunnels and is used for strategic purposes [such] as command and control, weapon storage, manufacturing platforms of weapon[s] and strategic logistics,” he said.
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Smoke rises from Gaza City seen from Deir al-Balah, following intense Israeli military attacks on northern Gaza, on Oct. 5, 2025. (Khames Alrefi/Getty Images)
“Such a tunnel is usually manned by hundreds of militants and commanders.”
The IDF believes this particular tunnel network may have been connected to the area where Lt. Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier abducted during the 2014 Gaza war, was held captive. Hamas returned Goldin’s remains earlier this month – after more than a decade.
The tunnel’s exposure sheds new light on the extent of its underground operations.
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Israeli forces destroyed a major Hamas tunnel system in Rafah connected to the area where Lt. Hadar Goldin was held, marking a strategic blow to the militant group’s capabilities.
“I have no idea about the cost but if you take into consideration the amount of the building materials, labor and facilities and its length, it is a matter of millions of INS,” he claimed. “Hamas chose routes under sensitive civilian and humanitarian facilities in order to prevent the IDF from attacking the tunnel.”
As Israel continues operations in Gaza, the destruction of Hamas’s tunnel networks remains central to its strategy to dismantle the group’s military capabilities and prevent future attacks.
In 2014, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to destroy the tunnels, which Hamas militants used to infiltrate Israeli territory, “with or without a ceasefire.”
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According to a 2023 investigation by Reuters, Hamas had said it had been using the tunnels to hide hostages seized in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Israel’s military said its ground forces had uncovered around 1,500 Hamas tunnels and shafts throughout the Gaza Strip, per the report.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
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The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
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FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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