Israel-Hamas war: Tunnels under children's bedrooms and silent streets – Sky News witnesses a Gaza town razed to the ground | World news

Rafah is now a wasteland.

The city in the Gaza Strip was completely razed to the ground by the months-long war.

The rubble is several meters high in places, the buildings that are still standing are hollow shells whose dark, empty windows look like empty souls in a horror show.

If it weren't for the constant howling of the drones above us, the streets would be quiet.

The silence is occasionally interrupted by gunshots, Hamas Fighters emerge from the ruins to fight a battle they lose.

Honestly, sometimes it's just hard to find the right words to describe what you see.

I stood in a side street surrounded by the remains of houses. Clothes were still hanging in the closets, children's toys were on the floor, a large teddy bear was hanging from a bedroom on the first floor, and a pink tricycle stood out among the gray dust and rubble.

Fifty metres away there was a large roundabout, and on the other side of the road the recognizable outlines of a school building could still be seen.

Two Israeli Tanks were parked there, keeping watch and prepared for the slightest movement.

In these streets and buildings, Hamas built its weapons depot, dug its tunnels and planned its attacks. And they are still there.

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International journalists cannot enter the country independently Gaza without escort of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Therefore, it is impossible to say whether this destruction was necessary or an unnecessary revenge, a punishment of a population considered collectively guilty for the worst massacre in Israel's history.

I had been in Gaza before the war, and as I stood there taking it all in, my memories brought the streets back to life.

I could see the hustle and bustle of the markets and restaurants, I could hear the constant traffic and the noise of children, so many children – half of Gaza’s population is under 18 years old.

“I know how bad this looks,” one soldier told me privately, “but we had no choice: Hamas had months to prepare for the fight in Rafah, they placed booby traps in houses and fought hard.”

A few meters away was the tunnel in which six murdered Israeli hostages were found two weeks ago.

The entrance shaft was located under a child's room painted with Disney characters, possibly directly under the bed.

I could picture this room as I stood there, taking it in, and I could imagine the joy of a child going to sleep, watched over by Mickey Mouse and Cinderella.

I wonder where the child is now?

And how does one judge this stolen innocence in light of the tragedy that unfolded beneath it? Six people, also innocent, executed with bullets in the back of the head.

Rafah is a city of ghosts.

We had travelled to Gaza via the Philadelphia Corridor, the 14.5-kilometer-long corridor that runs along the Egyptian border fence and is the last and most discussed sticking point on the way to a ceasefire agreement.

The Israelis have repaved large parts of it, creating a highway running from east to west.

They now have full control over it and are surrounding Gaza on all four sides.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on maintaining an Israeli army presence there to prevent Hamas arms smuggling.

He also fears that Hamas may try to smuggle hostages out of Gaza and, he claims, into Yemen or Iran. However, Israeli security officials say this assumption is not supported by intelligence.

The Israeli military has discovered nine tunnels leading to Egypt, which had already been blocked by Hamas and the Egyptians before the Israelis arrived.

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We were shown a tunnel large enough for vehicles to drive through. Nearby, machines are drilling deep into the ground to search for more tunnels. The Israeli forces are not sure if they will find any.

There are still hopeful talks of a ceasefire, but frankly this seems unlikely.

The Israeli military believes that it has created the conditions for this, but the decision lies with the politicians.

Now it is Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Netanyahu. Each blames the other for the failure of an agreement.

Meanwhile, the war in Gaza is changing: the fighting continues and people are still being killed every day in air strikes. But the war is developing into a tough fight against the uprising and, if the Israeli government wants it, it could stay that way for years to come.

Sky News received permission from the Israeli military to enter Gaza – however, our team's movement was restricted and the material we collected had to be approved by the Israeli army.