Israel says nine more militants killed in Hamas tunnels

• Soldiers “located nine additional terrorists who had been eliminated in the underground terror infrastructure,” the army said
• The Hamas militants are in tunnels located on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said Friday it had found the bodies of nine Palestinian militants recently killed in its attempts to dismantle the tunnel network in the southern Gaza Strip.

During operations in eastern Rafah, soldiers “located nine additional terrorists who had been eliminated in the underground terror infrastructure,” the army said in a statement.

“Thus far, over 30 terrorists who attempted to flee the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah have been eliminated.” Multiple sources told AFP on Thursday that negotiations were underway regarding the fate of dozens of Hamas fighters holed up in southern Gaza’s tunnels, beneath areas under Israeli military control.

On Wednesday, Hamas called on mediating countries to pressure Israel to allow safe passage — the first time the Islamist group had publicly acknowledged the situation. The US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar as mediators, entered into force on October 10.

Under its terms, the Israeli army withdrew behind the so-called Yellow Line within the Gaza Strip, a boundary marked on the surface with yellow concrete blocks. The Hamas militants are in tunnels located on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line.

A source from one of the mediating countries confirmed to AFP on Thursday that the United States, Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar have been discussing “with the aim of reaching 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 added.

A prominent Hamas member in Gaza told AFP that the group estimated their number to be between 60 and 80. On this subject, an Israeli government spokesperson told AFP earlier this month that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is not allowing safe passage.”

The ceasefire remains fragile, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the terms, while the Gaza Strip remains in a deep humanitarian crisis. The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people.

Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed at least 69,799 people, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable. The ministry says that since the ceasefire came into effect, 352 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.