The crisis involving Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels in Rafah — an area under Israeli occupation control for more than three weeks — has emerged as a major threat to the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, prompting mediators to seek solutions to preserve the truce.
اضافة اعلان
According to Hebrew media reports, negotiations are currently underway between the United States and Turkey to resolve the issue of the trapped fighters.
Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Tel Aviv is aware of these talks and is considering releasing the Hamas fighters and deporting them to Turkey, from where they would be relocated to several other countries. An Israeli senior official was quoted as saying that Israel might allow this move if there were sufficient U.S. pressure to do so.
Under the first phase of the internationally mediated ceasefire agreement reached last month, the entire city of Rafah came under what is known as the “yellow line”, an area under Israeli military control. This includes zones still containing active resistance tunnels, where between 150 and 200 fighters are believed to be trapped, according to Israeli estimates.
The issue gained prominence on October 19 and 29, following two “security incidents” in which three Israeli soldiers were killed, prompting the Israeli military to launch extensive and intense airstrikes across various parts of the Gaza Strip, resulting in around 300 Palestinian casualties (dead and injured).
In the wake of these developments, Israeli officials insisted that Hamas fighters faced only two choices: surrender or die, a stance that negatively affected the handover of the bodies of slain Israeli captives and caused repeated delays.
For its part, Hamas informed the mediators guaranteeing the Gaza agreement that it was ready to evacuate the trapped fighters but stressed that “surrender is not an option in its doctrine.” The movement also warned of an escalation if Israeli forces attempted to storm the fighters’ positions.
Meanwhile, media reports spoke of U.S. efforts to contain the crisis. American envoy Jared Kushner reportedly asked Israeli authorities to allow the fighters in Rafah to move to Hamas-controlled areas within Gaza, according to Israel’s public broadcaster (Kan).
Kushner was cited as saying that the fighters would surrender their weapons as part of a plan to turn Gaza into a demilitarized zone, while Israeli assessments suggested the crisis would ultimately be resolved since Washington would not allow any development that could lead to the collapse of the ceasefire agreement.
In recent hours, reports have surfaced about a new proposal to evacuate the trapped fighters entirely outside the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC)—said recently in the Knesset that the fate of the Hamas fighters “will be decided in a way that serves Israel’s interests,” stressing that his government “will not yield to Hamas’s demands or to internal and external pressures.” (Al Jazeera Net)
