WWII Army bunker in the U.K. passed off as ‘Hamas tunnel network’ in Gaza

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has repeatedly claimed that they have found Hamas tunnels under Gaza, including under al-Shifa, the largest hospital complex in the Strip. The IDF has surrounded and raided the hospital in recent weeks. Hamas has denied all accusations about the existence of a command center under the hospital. The recent focus on these alleged tunnels has spilled over to social media, with multiple photos and videos being shared claiming to show these tunnels.

What is the claim?

A video has gone viral in Assamese with the claim that it shows a Hamas tunnel network in Gaza. A Facebook user posted the video on November 8, and the post has garnered nearly 200,000 views so far. The video shows a person walking in a tunnel at the beginning of the video while the camera follows him from behind before he is overtaken, after which the camera then shows a labyrinth of tunnels. 

Screenshot of the viral Facebook post. (Source: Screenshot/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the video does not actually show a Hamas tunnel network in Gaza and is actually a tunnel network in the U.K. that was used as Army battle headquarters during World War II. 

What did we find?

A TikTok watermark and the username @urbexkev are visible in the bottom-right-hand corner of the viral video. Using this, we located the account on TikTok and found the original video, uploaded on October 31, 2023, with the caption "’#bunker #war #ww2 #history #underground" and the location marked as the United Kingdom. 

Multiple articles published on various websites, blogs, and forums dedicated to exploring historical structures that contained images similar to the tunnel seen in the viral video identified the location as Reigate Army Battle Headquarters in Reigate Hill, Surrey, in the U.K., also known as Monty’s Hideout, named after the senior British Army officer Bernard Montgomery. 

According to The Archaeology Data Service website, a digital archive for archeological research, it was constructed between 1940 and 1941 and was the underground battle headquarters of the South-East Command and used during the World War II period. The website also includes an old plan for the underground site that terms the tunnel network "Monty’s Hideout."

A YouTube video identifying the tunnel network as Monty’s Hideout, published by a channel called "TheSecretVault" on July 11, 2023, with the title, "TIGHT SQUEEZE BUNKER. SECRET Army Battle WW2 Underground HQ. MAN vs HOLE" shows an expedition into the same tunnel network seen in the viral video. Examination of frames from both videos confirms that they show the same place. For example, the 0:20 and 1:15 timestamps of the viral video match with the 19:36 and 20:20 timestamps of the YouTube video, respectively.

A comparison between screenshots of the viral video and the YouTube video. (Source: Screenshots/Facebook/YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)

How did we confirm the location?

We used a fence and a sign visible in the YouTube video to geolocate the site seen at the start of the YouTube video to Reigate Hill in Surrey. This confirms that the tunnel network seen in the viral video is the WWII military bunker popularly known as Monty’s Hideout, located in the area at Reigate Hill. 

A comparison between screenshots of the viral video and Google Maps images. (Source: Screenshots/YouTube/Google Maps/Modified by Logically Facts)

Earlier, Logically Facts debunked a false claim about a Swedish Cold War bunker being passed off as a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. 

The verdict

Visual comparison supported by archaeological data and geolocation confirms that the tunnel network seen in the viral video is from the U.K. and dates back to the World War II era. Social media users have falsely linked it with the Hamas tunnels in Gaza. Therefore, we have marked this claim false.