Sources in the terrorist organization suddenly announced the location of 3 casualties on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line, and then Al Jazeera reported that the mediators were working for"safe passage" for Hamas terrorists into the Yellow Line, outside the territory controlled by the IDF. Israel refuses, against the backdrop of ceasefire violations in which 3 fighters were killed.
Itamar Eichner, Lior Ben Ari|
Hours after the report that Hamas sources said thatthree kidnapped victims were located on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip, an unusual report was published today (Sunday) on Al Jazeera. The report, which relied on"sources", stated that the mediators are working with Hamas and Israel to provide"safe passage" for the terrorists remaining on the Israeli-controlled side.
A fighter in a Hamas tunnel in Rafah. Hamas' plan: to evacuate 200 terrorists (Photo: IDF spokesman)
The goal of the negotiations, according to the Al-Jazeera report, is to prevent a confrontation between these terrorists and Israeli forces, and to allow them to cross beyond the Yellow Line - back into Hamas-controlled territory."The proposed initiative calls for the activists to leave via Red Cross vehicles, through designated and secure corridors," it was reported."The mediators have received Hamas's consent to arrangements regarding the activists' removal and are awaiting Israel's approval."
But Israel, for now, refuses to do so - and says that the terrorist organization is actually trying to"escape" 200 terrorists from the Israeli-controlled Rafah area. The suspicion is that the announcement of the location of the three slain, including the publication of the name of one of them, was also planned in advance. The terrorist organization wanted to present that it had located them in Israeli-controlled territory east of Khan Yunis, after receiving permission to search there, and is now trying to create a"deal within the deal" - and is effectively offering their return with safe passage to its terrorists.
In Rafah, we will recall, the two most serious ceasefire violations occurred - in the first, Major Yaniv Kola and Second Lieutenant Itay Yavetz were killed, and in the second, Sergeant (res.) Efi (Yona Ephraim) Feldbaum was killed. Hamas then disavowed the terrorists in Rafah, claiming that they were not under its control - since they were on the Israeli side, and it was not possible to contact them. Israel has controlled Rafah since May 2024, when it went to war in the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas terrorist near a Red Cross vehicle in Gaza City, today. Will the terrorists receive safe passage under the auspices of the international organization? (Photo: Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Senior Israeli officials said today that Hamas is deliberately stalling for time, even though it can bring the remains of the dead immediately - with minimal effort."Its strategy is to stall for time, organize, harm the militias that acted against it, and extract a financial coupon for the aid. This is not in good faith, it is deliberate," said the officials, who added that Israel is interested in exhausting the move and applying sanctions against Hamas, while simultaneously attempting to maintain coordination with the United States.
"Hamas bringing in the bodies is much easier than it presents. Should sanctions be applied? Yes. Is it important to give a diplomatic opportunity with the Americans? Yes. We are trying to see what the maximum that can be achieved is," they said."We knew that this is what Hamas would do. The fact that we hold many levers, such as control of the crossings and control of the territory, puts us in a better position when it is necessary to act. We want to be coordinated with the Americans and want international support on the issue of Hamas. We hope that at some point the Americans will understand who they are dealing with and allow us to apply these sanctions. In the meantime, we continue to try to locate casualties."
At the start of the government meeting this morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that"Hamas' attempts to mislead us, the US and the world are pathetic. They will not succeed, and we will gradually return all of our hostages. We are committed to this." According to Netanyahu, returning the hostages is the first goal on Israel's priority list:"Hamas is a shadow of what it was, and we are systematically eliminating its pockets of resistance in Gaza."
