Crawling on all fours into the mouth of the tunnel, I pause momentarily before plunging further into the shadows that conceal one of Hamas’s most extensive subterranean networks.

For those who dread confined spaces, this is the decisive moment beyond which there is no turning back.

After progressing a few meters, I’m able to stand upright—one of the rare instances when being 5 feet 4 inches tall feels advantageous. Taller individuals would have to crouch, yet even I still manage to bump my head against the ceiling with a resounding thud.

Having spent years hearing and reading about these tunnels, I am now finally inside one of the world’s most unnerving locales. The environment is harsh and unforgiving.

There’s no room to stretch my arms, and visibility is limited to just a few centimeters ahead. Without my flashlight, I risk walking straight into the walls.

The air is thin and suffocating; within minutes, my chest constricts, heat engulfs me, and my voice falters as I struggle to document the experience on video.

The Daily Mail’s Middle East Correspondent Natalie Lisbona enters the Hamas terror tunnels

A squalid makeshift toilet in the bowels of the Gaza labrynth

Water bottles litter the floor of the tunnels that stretch for miles deep underground

Even though I know the terrorists are no longer here, my instincts tell me to turn around and get out.

It is unimaginable that many of the 254 hostages were held in tunnels like this in total darkness, some for nearly two years.

Hamas ate in front of them after stealing aid meant for civilians; they deprived captives of food, water and sanitation.

Some were kept in cages. Some were sexually assaulted in cramped chambers just like these. The bodies of those who were murdered in such tunnels were found with curved spines after being unable to stand upright for over a year.

You must crawl on your hands and knees to enter the cramped tunnel that stretches over 7km (4 miles)

You cannot stretch out your arms and can barely see a few centimetres ahead. The air is thin and stifling

A squalid washroom filled with empty water bottles, a filthy sink and hole in the ground, sectioned off with a shower curtain

Mattresses and a pot lie on the floor inside a tunnel in Rafah, Gaza Strip

This very maze is where the body of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, Israel’s longest-held hostage, was hidden for more than 11 years.

He was killed at just 23 during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, an IDF incursion into the Strip aimed to stop Hamas firing rockets into Israel.

Lt Goldin’s death came minutes after a 72-hour ceasefire was meant to begin. His family never gave up hope of recovering his body and last month they were finally able to bury him following an intelligence breakthrough.

I am embedded with the Israeli military which is showing a small group of international journalists this labyrinth beneath Rafah, southern Gaza, for the first time.

It is 7km (4.3miles) long, contains 80 hideouts, and runs beneath a dense residential district near the Philadelphi Corridor that borders Egypt.

Just a stone’s throw away from this complex is a building run by UNRWA, the UN organisation supporting Palestinians which Israel accuses of employing Hamas members. 

The IDF says that among the senior Hamas commanders who used this particular tunnel route was Rafah Brigade Commander Mohammad Shabaneh.

Nearby, terrorists are still operating in tunnels just like this.

The IDF has been accused by Hamas of breaching the ceasefire hundreds of times, but Israel disputes the figure and in turn says it is responding to widespread violations by the terror group. It has killed or captured around 40 terrorists in tunnels in Rafah alone.

Other Hamas operatives in this region attempted to flee as supplies dwindled, the IDF say, but were intercepted with dozens eliminated and more taken prisoner.

The number of terrorists still active around here is unclear but is believed to be in the hundreds. Soldiers warn us to stay alert for potential attacks.

Hamas continues to target IDF forces stationed along the Yellow Line, the boundary Israel withdrew to under the first stage of President Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

Meanwhile, despite the ceasefire Gaza’s civilians continue to bear the brunt of the war.

Israeli bombings continue almost daily. According to Hamas-run health authorities, 69,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, with many more wounded, homes levelled, and families displaced.

Lisbona standing beside the tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza

Haunting debris left underground by Hamas terrorists who have fled

Pipes from rudimentary drainage line the tunnels deep underground

Trash is piled underfoot near the entrance to the tunnel network

Israeli soldiers in a tunnel where Hamas militants held the body of Israeli officer Hadar Goldin

Despite the ceasefire framework, Hamas still governs Gaza with an iron fist, executing rival gang members in front of crowds in the street.

Yet Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week said the first phase of the UN-endorsed plan is nearing completion and that the second, which must include Hamas’s disarmament, will start soon.

Seeing up close the underground labyrinths from which the terrorists exert their power, I find it impossible to comprehend them ever laying down their arms.

From the ground, it is also hard to imagine how Israel will uncover and destroy every tunnel – a vital objective they must complete before withdrawing.

The very first condition of the October 10 ceasefire was that all hostages both living and dead would be returned. But two months later Israel still waits for its final hostage.

Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer who was abducted and killed during the October 7 attacks, has still not been returned.

Despite suffering a broken shoulder, he went out to confront the terrorists head-on, giving his life to protect others.

Lieutenant Hadar Goldin whose body was held in the tunnel Lisbona entered

The body of Ran Gvili, the final hostage held by Hamas, remains in Gaza

The body executed hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin had a bent spine after he was unable to stand for over a year underground before his murder

He died shortly afterwards, Israeli authorities have said, but until they see his body Gvili’s family still hope for a miracle.

His mother Talik says Israel won’t heal until he is returned – a sentiment shared by the relatives of every hostage.

But even if he is returned, and were Hamas to disarm, the future governance of Gaza remains entirely uncertain.

Just this week Sir Tony Blair was reportedly dropped from consideration to chair Mr Trump’s ‘board of peace’ in Gaza following objections from Arab and Muslim states.

He had been the only person identified to oversee the interim body which is hoped will be established to lead the Strip on a brighter path following Hamas’ dismantling.

But now those familiar with the matter say he is out due to his perceived closeness to Israel and role in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

So, what next for Gaza? Hamas may finally lay down their weapons. Perhaps their underground network will soon all be destroyed.

But down here in the tunnels of death, two months on from Mr Trump’s historic deal, that feels a long way off.

Only one thing is clear. The memories these haunting chambers hold, and the unimaginable suffering on all sides, will endure long after the dust settles on this wretched war.