Impending Gaza invasion: What do we know about Israeli chemical weapons

Israel has not launched the ground invasion of Gaza yet. Still, it has said it is preparing for the next combat stage after relentlessly bombing Gaza, killing more than 7,300 people, including children. It came after an attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, which killed at least 1,400 people. Hamas has taken an estimated 200 hostages from 25 countries.

According to the Middle East Eye, Israel is set to flood Hamas tunnels with a type of nerve gas or chemical weapon under the surveillance of US Delta Force commandos as part of a surprise attack on Gaza.

"The plan hinges on the element of surprise to decisively win the battle, using internationally forbidden gases, particularly nerve gas, and chemical weapons. Large quantities of nerve gas would be pumped into the tunnels," a senior Arab source told the MEE.

The source also said the US Delta Force will oversee the operation. The nerve gas that will be pumped into Hamas tunnels will be capable of paralysing bodily movements for six to 12 hours.

In addition, Israel also plans to use innovative "sponge bombs" in its efforts to combat the network of Hamas tunnels under Gaza, according to the Telegraph.

The Israeli army has been testing these chemical bombs, which don't contain explosives but are designed to seal tunnel gaps and entrances. These "sponge bombs" create a sudden expansion of foam that then hardens.

The Israeli army will reportedly deploy them in the tunnel networks to prevent ambushes by sealing off potential entry points for Hamas fighters, known as the "Gaza Metro".

Although not outlawed, the use of sponge bombs is not without risk. The chemical-based foam can be hazardous, and some Israeli soldiers have lost their eyesight.

Nerve gases, on the other hand, of all kinds have been outlawed by both the Hague and Geneva Conventions.

Israeli chemical weapon inventory

A US Central Intelligence Agency document made public by the Foreign Policy magazine showed that the intelligence agency possessed substantial evidence dating back to the 1980s, indicating that Israel maintained an inventory of chemical and biological weapons.

It also discloses that the Israeli military accumulated a substantial supply of chemical and biological weapons while amassing an estimated three hundred nuclear weapons during the 1960s and 70s.

A 1983 document stated that US surveillance satellites had identified a "probable CW [chemical weapon] nerve agent production facility and a storage facility" in the Dimona Sensitive Storage Area in the Negev Desert.

The report further suggested that other chemical weapon production capabilities likely existed within Israel's chemical industry.

The document did not confirm Israel's possession of lethal chemical agents but suggested they had access to persistent and non-persistent nerve agents, mustard agents, and riot-control agents paired with suitable delivery systems.

According to the Foreign Policy report, Israeli historian Avner Cohen, in his 1988 book "Israel and the Bomb," claimed that then-Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion ordered the secret development of a chemical weapons stockpile around the 1956 war between Israel and Egypt.

The 1983 CIA report also provided an assessment, stating that "Israel, sensing its vulnerability to chemical attacks from neighbouring Arab states with burgeoning CW [chemical weapon] capabilities, initiated a program for chemical warfare readiness in both offensive and defensive dimensions."

While Israel did sign the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, it was never ratified by the Israeli Knesset (Parliament).

Israel has not permitted international inspections of its nuclear facilities or chemical weapons stockpiles.

It is yet to be seen whether reports of Israel pumping internationally forbidden gases into tunnels are true, as the "normal" military responses to tunnels, of using explosives to destroy them or flooding to render them useless, are also probably not feasible.