Today’s suggested actions to support Israel in your local community:

• Share these social media posts on Instagram about the history of failed ceasefires with Hamas that have led to more violence.
• Combat disinformation about Israel that is spreading lies on social media with the help of this informative guide.
• Learn about the war’s impact on women in Israel at a webinar at 1 pm ET on December 19th on how Israeli women’s organizations are partnering to meet immediate needs for women and girls and to advocate for their rights.
• Watch and share the story of Lt. Col. Alim Abdullah, a 40-year-old company commander and father of 3 from a Druze village, who was killed by gun fire during the first days of the war when he responded to an infiltration of terrorists into northern Israel.
• Follow Jewish Federations on Instagram at handle @jfederations for the latest resources with social posts, reels, videos, and talking points.

Issue:
As part of the ongoing military operations in Gaza, the IDF uncovered the largest tunnel system so far discovered during the war under the Erez Crossing.

Background:

• • The 300-mile-long tunnel system that Hamas built under Gaza is used to transport and store explosives and other weapons aimed at destroying Israel. It is also used to carry out cross-border infiltrations to murder and abduct Israelis, and as a command center to plan and orchestrate these attacks. Detained Palestinians have admitted to using tunnels for terror purposes.
  • Other terrorist groups, including ISIS, built tunnels to make fighting very difficult for the opposing force, but Hamas’s tunnel network is unprecedented. Urban warfare expert John Spencer called the tunnels “the vital element of Hamas’s guerrilla warfare strategy.”
  • Hamas builds tunnels under UNWRA schools, mosques, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, endangering the lives of Palestinians and rendering this infrastructure legitimate targets under international law.
  • The IDF estimates that Hamas diverted $3 million and 1,800 tons of concrete for every two miles of tunnel. That amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars and half-a-million tons of concrete – a major investment in terrorism that should have been directed towards improving the welfare of the Palestinian people.
  • Hamas has been using its tunnel system to carry out attacks against Israelis for over two decades. In 2014, the IDF foiled a major terror plot to abduct and kill Israeli civilians by sending two hundred armed Hamas terrorists through the tunnels and into Israel.
  • Released hostages have shared very difficult stories of being kept underground in tunnels.
  • The section of the tunnel that was exposed by the IDF near the Erez Crossing is 2.5 miles long and 164 feet deep – just about the height of the Statue of Liberty.
  • A video was released of Muhammed Sinwar, brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar who designed the terror tunnel system, driving a car through the tunnel, demonstrating its sheer size.

The Community Mobilization Center is monitoring major developments in Israel and North America related to Israel’s war against Hamas. The Community Mobilization Center will rapidly disseminate resources to help mobilize and support our local communities as they build and sustain civic and political support for Israel in this conflict. The work of the Community Mobilization Center will continue as long as it takes Israel to eradicate the terrorist threat and restore security to the country.