The living quarters were more comfortable, with green Astroturf underfoot, brown-and-white patterned tiles on the walls, electric fans and storage for personal effects. The bathrooms were tiled white with purple stripes.

There were many jars of extra-strong vitamins for pregnant women. “We captured some terrorists who had been in the tunnels for 60 days,” one commander told me. “They were ruined.” 

The cells for the Israeli hostages were cramped, with a thin mattress on the floor, tiled walls and a lavatory in the rear that was visible through the bars. 

In the areas reserved for commanders, there were lockable gates, such as those seen in the CCTV footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar under Khan Younis, which was filmed on Oct 10. These were used to keep lower ranks from entering leadership zones.

“It is huge. Amazing. Mind-blowing,” one officer said. “As a commander, I take my hat off to their infrastructure.”

Shallow headquarters

One aspect of the labyrinth that took the IDF by surprise was the location of the various underground headquarters. They had expected them to be deeply buried, but figures like Rafa’a Salameh, the Khan Younis commander who played a key role in planning October 7 and was killed in an air strike in July, used offices buried just 50-65 feet below his family home. 

“His daily working life was underground,” one general said. “We were amazed. There was no need for him to appear above ground. He had his office with telephones and connectivity in the tunnels, then he would walk up a shaft into his home.”

Many of these command centres included cells for Israeli hostages, suggesting that the terrorists may have intended to rely on human shields to ward off attacks. “They have a different way of thinking,” the general said.