The Israeli Defence forces have begun to flood hundreds of miles of tunnels under Gaza with seawater, according to reports. 
This evening, the Wall Street Journal reported that according to “US officials briefed on the Israeli military’s operations” the plan, which was first reported earlier this month has been put into operation. 

The Israel Defense Forces assembled five large seawater pumps capable of transferring thousands of cubic meters of water per hour from the Mediterranean Sea into the tunnels, according to the report.

Work was reportedly completed on the pumps around the middle of November. They are located roughly one mile north of the Al-Shati Camp along northern Gaza's coastline.

Israel has discovered hundreds of tunnels so far during the Gaza ground operation that began on October 27, with 500 of them destroyed or sealed. The IDF has also destroyed hundreds of miles of tunnels in addition to the shafts.

Hamas kidnapped over 200 people during the Oct. 7 massacre, with 137 still being held hostage.

A source familiar with the plan said that a flooding process over weeks would allow for Hamas terrorists and potentially hostages to move out.

“We are not sure how successful pumping will be since nobody knows the details of the tunnels and the ground around them,” the source said. “It’s impossible to know if that will be effective because we don’t know how seawater will drain in tunnels no one has been in before.”