As soon as the war ended, Abu Abdel Rahman, not his real name, a 26-year-old fighter in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, emerged from the tunnels where he had directed operations against Israeli forces. He returned to his normal life, splitting his time between work in the Palestinian police force, studying and his family. The war, however, has not left Rahman. "Since the end of the war, I've been plagued by nightmares. I dream that they've opened the tunnel and found us inside, and kill us," he told Al-Monitor.

Sitting with Rahman is not easy. He watches everything around him, noting every movement, and he falls silent when a stranger approaches nearby. "I can't [let anyone] recognize the sound of my voice," he said. Before taking a seat, Rahman removes all his electronic devices and leaves them at a distance from where he eventually comes to rest.

Rahman offered a number of details about the war. "We were able to blow up six military vehicles from inside a tunnel that was only 70 centimeters [27 inches] wide and 140 centimeters [55 inches] high. Every bomb planted in the ground had a number. When a military vehicle stopped above the bomb, we would detonate it based on the number. If it was above a no. 1 bomb, the wire connected to it had one node. If the vehicle was above a no. 2 bomb, it had two nodes," he said, explaining how fighters knew which detonator was paired with which bomb.

"One of the mujahedeen would stick his camouflaged head out of the tunnel to observe the location of the vehicles. When a vehicle was above a bomb, we would detonate it. At that time, we would let out cries of 'God is great' inside the tunnel, which was dozens of meters under the ground," he said.