PKK had created a defense line consisting of tunnels and tower positions in Afrin. With the improvement of weather conditions and the use of 203mm guns, the defense lines on the border collapsed in less than a week.
In Operation Olive Branch, they prepared a defense line with a network of underground tunnels and attached buildings within the city. This line collapsed before it could last a week, as the tunnel activities were heavily hit by the Turkish Armed Forces, they could not use the tunnels effectively, and the cities were surrounded.
In 2021, this time we came across tunnels dug into the mountains in Iraq/Avasin. TSK was also prepared for this situation. More than 60 terrorists were neutralized in 7 tunnels with the pressure created by the explosives detonated at the tunnel entrances.
Now let's come to the tunnels that the Turkish Armed Forces could not clear. Seri, Matin, Sida and Bazni. Tunnels where efforts were made for months but still the PKK could not be exterminated. Each tunnel has its own difficulty. In one case the battlements are on a horizontal cliff. The other goes very deep. Another one has too many battlements, etc.
But the basic reasons why these tunnels cannot be destroyed are the same. The tunnels have natural ventilation holes, drilling cannot be done because the mountain is too hard, and since there are too many entrances, they give the opportunity to spot enemy elements that are active around the tunnel.
The tunnels are large, have a labyrinth structure, generally descend in terms of hight, tunnel entrances or defense points inside are so low that a person cannot walk standing, and these low points are trapped with IEDs.
Easily detecting and targeting the mobility of enemy elements operating in the tunnel, building positions/rooms against the pressure created by explosives, any gas that can be used in the tunnels being considered a war crime, etc.
As a result, a modern army could not penetrate an organization's tunnel-based defense line. Hamas tunnels are very different. But there is still a tunnel conflict. It would be useful for them to look at what the PKK did in the tunnel conflicts, just as they took it from the PKK in the Paramator incident.
You understand my purpose in writing so much. There is no reason why the Israeli army will have difficulty or lose just because there are tunnels. These tunnels need to be well prepared for possible scenarios. I wrote the parts that make the situation harder for TSK above. I'm sure this will make the situation for the Israeli army as well.
