Rafah tunnels ablaze... Israel kills fighters and negotiations for the exit of besieged Hamas members.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Special

The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it had eliminated four Palestinian fighters in the east of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, the area to which the army withdrew as part of the temporary ceasefire agreement reached last month. The army said in a statement that the four fighters emerged from an underground tunnel in what it described as a "terrorist infrastructure area," where they were spotted and dealt with. It added that in the past few days, the bodies of nine other fighters were found inside the tunnel network in the eastern sector of Rafah, in the context of ongoing operations to dismantle these underground networks. The statement indicated that Israeli forces killed more than 30 fighters in Rafah who tried to escape through tunnels linking underground sites, at a time when clashes continue in various areas despite the partial truce. In the same context, well-informed sources revealed to Agence France-Presse that negotiations are taking place between international mediators to discuss the fate of dozens of fighters belonging to the "Hamas" movement, who have been besieged for weeks inside the tunnels located in areas under Israeli control east of Rafah. For the first time, "Hamas" acknowledged the presence of its fighters inside these tunnels, after the US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff revealed the details of the operation, and the movement called on the mediating countries to pressure Tel Aviv to allow a safe exit for its besieged fighters. It is worth noting that the ceasefire agreement, which entered into force on October 10 with US mediation, led to the redeployment of the Israeli army within the so-called "Yellow Line," which allows it to control more than half of the area of the sector. According to diplomatic sources, the United States, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey are currently drafting a possible settlement that would allow Hamas fighters to exit the tunnels safely, within arrangements being discussed quietly amid the ongoing field escalation.