Israel troops recover bodies of 9 militants in Rafah tunnels

The Israeli military says its forces have recovered the bodies of nine Palestinian militants during ongoing operations aimed at dismantling tunnel networks in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a statement released on Friday, the army said troops operating in eastern Rafah located nine additional terrorists who had been eliminated in the underground terror infrastructure.

It added that “over 30 terrorists who attempted to flee the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah have been eliminated” so far.

The discovery comes as multiple sources told AFP that negotiations are underway over the fate of dozens of Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels beneath areas now under Israeli military control in southern Gaza.

On Wednesday, Hamas publicly acknowledged the situation for the first time, urging mediating nations to pressure Israel to allow safe passage.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by the United States with Egypt, Turkey and Qatar as mediators, has been in effect since October 10.

Under the truce terms, Israeli troops pulled back behind the Yellow Line, a boundary inside Gaza marked with yellow concrete blocks. The Hamas fighters are believed to be hiding in tunnels on the Israeli-controlled side of that line.

A diplomat from one of the mediating countries confirmed to AFP that the US, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar were discussing “a compromise that would allow Hamas fighters to leave the tunnels behind the Yellow Line near Rafah”.

“The current proposal would grant them safe passage to areas not under Israeli control, helping to ensure this does not become a friction point that leads to further violations or the collapse of the ceasefire,” the source said.

A senior Hamas official in Gaza estimated the trapped fighters to be between 60 and 80. But an Israeli government spokesperson told AFP earlier this month that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is not allowing safe passage”.

The ceasefire remains fragile, with both sides accusing each other of violations, while Gaza continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis.

The war began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,221 people. Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has since killed at least 69,799 people, according to the territory’s health ministry figures regarded by the UN as credible. The ministry says 352 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire took effect.