The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released a video showing what it describes as one of Hamas’s "most complex" underground infrastructures extending beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah. 

According to the IDF, the seven-kilometer-long "root tunnel" runs roughly 25 meters underground, contains about 80 rooms and was used for command operations, weapons storage and sheltering Hamas operatives. 

The video shared on X on Nov. 20 travels through reinforced concrete passageways and large chambers, showing the sophistication and scale of Hamas’s underground network. 

The Israeli military claims the tunnel originated beneath a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) compound and stretched beneath civilian sites.

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"IDF troops uncovered one of Gaza’s largest and most complex underground routes, over 7 km long, ~25 meters deep, with ~80 hideouts, where abducted IDF officer Lt. Hadar Goldin was held," the post read.

Israeli analysts say the demolition of this tunnel marks a strategic blow to Hamas and "paves the path to its defeat."

"The destruction of this tunnel as well as many others like it or similar… as well as other terror facilities pushes Hamas to the edge," said Professor Kobi Michael, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the Misgav Institute.

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"It is one of the longest and [most] complicated tunnels that have been discovered, but it is not the only one," he told Fox News Digital.

Michael explained that Hamas’ root tunnels form the backbone of its underground warfare system. 

"This is an example of a root tunnel, a strategic one that feeds many tactic tunnels and is used for strategic purposes [such] as command and control, weapon storage, manufacturing platforms of weapon[s] and strategic logistics," he said.

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"Such a tunnel is usually manned by hundreds of militants and commanders."

The IDF believes this particular tunnel network may have been connected to the area where Lt. Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier abducted during the 2014 Gaza war, was held captive. Hamas returned Goldin’s remains earlier this month – after more than a decade. 

The tunnel’s exposure sheds new light on the extent of its underground operations.

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"I have no idea about the cost but if you take into consideration the amount of the building materials, labor and facilities and its length, it is a matter of millions of INS," he claimed. "Hamas chose routes under sensitive civilian and humanitarian facilities in order to prevent the IDF from attacking the tunnel."

As Israel continues operations in Gaza, the destruction of Hamas’s tunnel networks remains central to its strategy to dismantle the group’s military capabilities and prevent future attacks.

In 2014, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to destroy the tunnels, which Hamas militants used to infiltrate Israeli territory, "with or without a ceasefire."

According to a 2023 investigation by Reuters, Hamas had said it had been using the tunnels to hide hostages seized in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Israel’s military said its ground forces had uncovered around 1,500 Hamas tunnels and shafts throughout the Gaza Strip, per the report.

Students from the Northeast are heading South in record numbers, drawn by universities where sunshine, football and Greek life define campus life.

Rather than chasing the Ivy League dream, many students are now opting for schools in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which consists of 16 schools including the University of South Carolina (USC), the University of Alabama, the University of Mississippi and the University of Tennessee, The Sunday Times reported.

Between 2014 and 2023, SEC colleges saw a 91% increase in undergraduate students from northeastern states, according to The Sunday Times, citing government data.

USC alone is up 90% over that same period.

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USC hit a record this year with more than 40,000 students. Out-of-state enrollment has jumped 58% over the past decade, largely from the Northeast, as the school's student body has grown 46%, according to The Sunday Times.

The largest pipelines are from North Carolina, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, The Sunday Times reported.

"All my friends are from [New] Jersey, [Philadelphia], New York, Maryland," Sean Carroll, a 21-year-old USC senior from New York, told The Sunday Times. "People always ask me, ‘was it a culture shock?’ but there’s so many people from the north that you don’t even realize you’re in South Carolina. It’s just so trendy."

Carroll, a member of USC’s Chi Psi fraternity, said only ten of its 200 members are from south of Virginia.

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"Northern fraternities hang with northern fraternities, southern with southern," Carroll told The Sunday Times. "Even the tailgate lots are divided."

Meanwhile, Cameron McManus, a high school senior from the Washington, D.C., suburbs, recently told Fortune Magazine he had been eyeing Clemson University, USC or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after seeing TikTok and Instagram videos featuring sports, Greek life and warm weather.

"You can be outside all months of the year," McManus said.

Since 2019, applications to Southern colleges have risen 50%, compared to less than 30% for schools in New England and the mid-Atlantic, Fortune Magazine reported, citing Common Application data.

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The rise stems from the growing appeal of Southern schools and tougher competition for the nation’s most elite universities, as students now apply to more colleges than ever, according to Fortune Magazine.

As competition intensifies, some Southern states have moved to preserve access for local students. Clemson’s acceptance rate has fallen from 52% to 38% in a decade, The Sunday Times reported.

North Carolina now caps out-of-state enrollment at 18%, while Texas offers guaranteed admission to its public universities for the top 10% of high school graduates, according to The Sunday Times.

USC, SEC and a spokesperson for the New England Board of Higher Education did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.