Israel-Palestine Mega Fact Check!

Here in Canada, the government built an underground bunker (nicknamed the Diefenbunker) in the 1950s at a cost of about $170 million in today’s dollars. Despite the hefty price tag, it can only shelter about 560 key military and government leaders for 1 month. To be fair, this bunker was designed to withstand nuclear war, not just regular bombs. But even if we assume that the shelters only cost one-tenth of this price per person, the cost to shelter 2.1 million Gazans would reach nearly $64 billion.

This also doesn’t address where such massive bunkers could feasibly be built in a tight space like the Gaza Strip. And considering Israel’s hefty restrictions on imported materials like cement, it is highly unlikely that Israel would allow into Gaza sufficient materials to build such superstructures.

Finally, as with the tunnels, if most Gazans hunkered down in bomb shelters, what would the IDF do? Having shown no hesitation at bombing hospitals and schools, the IDF would almost certainly claim that Hamas militants were hiding in the bunkers (whether true or not) and bomb or invade them, defeating their purpose. Ultimately, bomb shelters can only protect civilians if there is a strong enough military force above ground to defend it against invasion—a force Gaza does not possess.