How IDF troops detect tunnels and terrorists beneath the battlefield

These technologies have become essential as Hamas’s underground network, sometimes called the “Gaza Metro,” is believed to stretch for hundreds of kilometers.

By Hezy Laing

The IDF has invested heavily in underground‑detection technology in Gaza, relying on a combination of seismic sensors, ground‑penetrating radar, and electromagnetic mapping to locate Hamas tunnels beneath dense urban terrain.

Israel began developing these systems after the 2014 Gaza war, when Hamas’s expanding tunnel network became one of the most significant threats to Israeli troops and civilians.

By 2021, Israel completed a multilayered underground barrier along the Gaza border, integrating radar arrays, vibration sensors, and artificial‑intelligence analysis tools developed by Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, and the Defense Ministry’s research directorate, MAFAT.

The system does not operate like simple audio detection. Instead, it uses seismic and electromagnetic technologies.

Seismic sensors buried deep underground detect micro‑vibrations caused by digging, movement, or structural changes within tunnels.

These sensors are sensitive enough to register the difference between a passing vehicle, shifting soil, and the rhythmic impact of a pickaxe.

The data is fed into machine‑learning software trained on thousands of known tunnel signatures, allowing the system to distinguish real threats from background noise.

Ground‑penetrating radar, or GPR, forms the second layer of detection.

GPR works by sending electromagnetic pulses into the earth and measuring how the waves reflect off underground structures.

When the signal encounters a cavity, reinforced concrete, metal supports, or disturbed soil, it returns a different pattern than it would from undisturbed ground.

In Gaza’s sandy and clay‑mixed soil, these systems can typically penetrate 20 to 40 meters underground, depending on moisture levels and density.

In optimal conditions, some arrays can reach even deeper, allowing engineers to reconstruct two‑ or three‑dimensional maps of tunnels, shafts, and hidden chambers.

A third component, electromagnetic anomaly detection, identifies irregularities caused by wiring, ventilation systems, or moisture differences inside tunnels.

Combined with seismic and radar data, it gives the IDF a layered picture of what lies beneath the surface.

These technologies have become essential as Hamas’s underground network, sometimes called the “Gaza Metro,” is believed to stretch for hundreds of kilometers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently stated that the IDF has destroyed approximately 150 kilometers of Hamas tunnels in Gaza, out of an estimated 500‑kilometer underground network.