Diamonds in the Rough: Finding Weapons Nobody Else Can

Eleven days have passed since Hamas terrorists kidnapped three Israeli teenagers in Judea and Samaria. Since then, the IDF has conducted an extensive operation to find the abducted teens and weaken Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure. The search has led soldiers into buildings and underground tunnels where they have discovered massive caches of illegal weapons.

Many of these forces are members of the elite IDF unit Yahalom, a name that means ‘diamond’ in Hebrew. Throughout the year, they train to locate smuggling tunnels, defuse bombs and use live ammunition to fight underground.

During widespread searches, the forces have found tunnels connected to Palestinian households through washing machines and warehouses. The tunnels and other hiding places contain everything from grenades to improvised explosive devices and substances used to make bombs.

A fighter in Yahalom trains for underground combat

“Every house, every tunnel, every cave – we can handle all of it,” says a high ranking officer in the unit. “Our soldiers are determined. They’ll do everything they can to bring the boys back to their families.”