Israel has assembled a large system of pumps to potentially flood tunnels used by militant group Hamas under the Gaza strip in a bid to drive out fighters, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
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Around the middle of November, Israel's army completed the set-up of at least five pumps about a mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp.
The pumps could move thousands of cubic metres of water each hour, flooding the tunnels within weeks, the report on Monday said.
It was not clear whether Israel would consider using the pumps before all hostages were released, the story said.
Hamas has previously said it has hidden captives in "safe places and tunnels".
When asked about the story, a US official said it made sense for Israel to render the tunnels inoperable and that the country was exploring a range of ways to do that.
Israel's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal said an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official declined to comment on the flooding plan but said, "The IDF is operating to dismantle Hamas' terror capabilities in various ways, using different military and technological tools."
Australian Associated Press
