Ever since this war started .
Israel has been saying that the Hamas move to build tunnels underneath civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip was one of the reasons that it is so difficult for Israel to conduct this war without potentially putting the lives of civilians in danger .
And today we got a firsthand look inside what Israel says is the largest Hamas tunnel discovered during this war so far .
It's about 10 ft tall with Congress crete walls .
It's actually able for a car to be driven into it based on the width and the fact that there is a declining slope from the surface of the earth into this tunnel .
Israel says that this is only about a quarter mile from the Israeli border but that it extends some 2.5 miles into Gaza toward Gaza City .
Now , NBC news cannot independently verify what Hamas was using that tunnel for whether it was used for any military purposes or how recently it was inhabited .
But NBC was invited to tour this tunnel by the IDF as they are really working to bolster their claims about how Hamas in their view has jeopardized the safety of their own civilian population .
As Israel says that there are hundreds of these types of tunnels throughout the Gaza Strip .
The Israeli government now looking for ways to try to destroy these tunnels .
Even as they say that getting every single one of them is going to be a very difficult task , but they say it is critical that Israel be able to root out these tunnels if they are going to be able to accomplish their goal of completely eliminating Hamas .
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