What is a ‘sponge bomb’, Israel’s new weapon against Hamas? | CPT PPP Coverage

Fighting in Gaza entered the 21st day on Friday after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7. Around 1,400 people were killed in the attack on Gaza.

On Friday, the Israeli military advanced further into Gaza, preparing for a potential ground offensive against Hamas. Nonetheless, a major obstacle for the Israeli troops is the extensive tunnel network of Hamas, within which the group is reported to have captured numerous hostages.

Various types of tunnels are used by Hamas including the ones stretching for hundreds of kilometers and descending up to 80 meters deep beneath the 360-square-kilometer coastal strip and its surrounding borders.

READ | ‘Enemy is a disease with no cure, except beheading’: Israel shows Hamas’ note

It is to fight this tunnel network of Hamas that Israel is making “sponge bombs” – bombs that create a sudden explosion of foam that expands rapidly and then hardens. The country has been testing the grenades to seal off tunnel entrances which the Hamas group is using for its operations, a report in The Telegraph says.

What are Sponge Bombs and how is it used

Reportedly, these devices are housed in a protective plastic casing with a metal barrier separating two separate liquids. Once activated, the liquids combine and move toward their designated target. During exercises in a simulated tunnel system near the Gaza border in 2021, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were observed utilizing these devices.

One of the elite units responsible for operations underground is Yahalom, a specialized commando group from Israel’s Combat Engineering Corps, often referred to as the “weasels.” Their expertise lies in the detection, clearance, and demolition of tunnels.

Hamas reportedly started digging tunnels in the mid-1990s. The process only got easier post Hamas winning power in the 2006 election.