How Israel’s 5,000lb ‘Bunker Buster’ will be vital in burying Hamas killers in their Gaza tunnel lairs during invasion
ISRAEL’S military is primed to wipe out Hamas terrorists hiding in an underground lairs with its powerful 5,000lb “Bunker Buster” bomb.
Hamas gunmen retreated into an underground maze of tunnels in Gaza after turning villages and a music festival into a bloodbath as they ruthlessly massacred children, men and women.
Israeli troops are on now the verge of launching an all-out ground offensive in a bid to crush the terror group.
And the laser-guided £125,000 bomb – known as GBU-28 – will be vital in crushing the killers.
The deadly 19ft-long explosive, developed in the US, smashes down deep into the ground before detonating.
They are capable of demolishing targets hidden far below the surface – like Hamas’ tunnel labyrinth that can’t be destructed by airstrikes.
Hamas’ command and control centres are also housed in the intricate, concrete-reinforced system away from Israel’s watch.
So-called bunker busters were first deployed during the Second World War to batter underground rocket factories in Germany.
Israeli soldiers may resort to unleashing the GBU-28s as it’s understood the underground tunnels are heavily laden with booby traps and homemade bombs.
The maze-like structure of the passages also makes it incredibly hard to navigate.
But it’s feared Hamas militants took dozens of abducted captives, including children snatched from their murdered parents, into the tunnels.
The IDF said on Monday at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza.
Hamas has been known to cruelly use people as human shields in the past.
Israel requested the US’ more advanced GBU-72 model in 2021, but the deal is yet to be rubber-stamped.
The same year, Israel used the GBU-28 to strike the tunnels – known as “Gaza Metro”.
The IDF claimed it had destroyed more than 60 miles of the passages in airstrikes – but Hamas insisted just 15 miles were blasted.
Israeli forces buried Hamas leaders alive by tricking them into bolting underground and then blitzing their network of tunnels.
Commanders tweeted that an attack on the Gaza Strip was under way at the same time that a bombardment from jets, tanks and gunboats erupted.
Hamas fighters scurried to grab hidden weapons to prepare for an expected surge of Israeli troops.
But the tweet was fake, and devastating bunker-buster airstrikes then rained down on 150 targets.
Scores are believed to have died as the tunnels were smashed by 450 missiles in 40 minutes.
Now it’s thought they will rely on them again Israel’s soldiers have vowed to “wipe this evil off the face of the earth once and for all”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told front-line soldiers: “The next stage is coming”.
Israel has warned Gaza it is preparing an all-out assault “from the air, land and sea”, with almost 400,000 troops gearing up for battle.
Mr Netanyahu said: “They are ready to take action to defeat the bloodthirsty monsters who have risen against us to destroy us.
“Hamas thought that we would come apart – we will demolish Hamas.”
The ground offensive is set to be Israel’s largest since it invaded Lebanon in 2006.