The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had found the bodies of nine Palestinian militants killed in its efforts to dismantle Hamas’s tunnel network in eastern Rafah, stating that “located nine additional terrorists who had been eliminated in the underground terror infrastructure” and that “thus far, over 30 terrorists who attempted to flee the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah have been eliminated.”
The discovery comes as multiple sources told AFP that negotiations are underway involving the United States, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar on the fate of dozens of Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line.
Hamas has publicly appealed for mediators to pressure Israel to permit safe passage, but an Israeli government spokesperson earlier said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is not allowing safe passage.”
The standoff persists amid a fragile ceasefire, ongoing allegations of violations by both sides, and a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel’s retaliatory assault following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack has killed at least 69,799 people, according to UN-vetted figures.