The Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas on Wednesday called on mediating countries to put pressure on Israel to allow dozens of its fighters to leave the tunnels where they are trapped in the Gaza Strip. The request was made after the Israeli military said last week it had killed more than twenty Hamas members “who attempted to escape from the underground terror infrastructure in the region”, and had arrested eight of them.
“We hold (Israel) fully responsible for the lives of our fighters, and we call on mediators to act immediately to pressure our sons to return home,” Hamas said in a statement. This is the first time the Islamist group has publicly admitted that some of its fighters were trapped in the tunnels.
Israeli media has reported for several weeks that 100 to 200 Hamas members are trapped in a network of tunnels under the city of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip area under Israeli military control. According to the ceasefire agreement obtained by the United States and which took effect on October 10, Israeli troops must withdraw from the coastal part of the Palestinian territory, beyond the “yellow line” that demarcates the area under Israeli control.
Netanyahu doesn’t want this
American special envoy Steve Witkoff in November, at a business conference in Miami, referred to the “200 fighters trapped in Rafah”, and predicted that their surrender could be a “test” for the implementation of the ceasefire by Israel and Hamas. But Israel appears unwilling to compromise on allowing them to safely exit the tunnel.
An Israeli government spokesperson told AFP in November that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “did not allow 200 Hamas terrorists to pass safely” and that he remained “firm in his intention to dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.”
In its statement Wednesday, Hamas accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire by “searching, liquidating and arresting resistance fighters besieged in the Rafah tunnels.”
