Published On 13/11/2025
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Last update: 00:27 (Mecca time)
A crisis emerged among the movement’s fighters agitation They were stuck in the Rafah tunnels in the area under the occupation’s control for more than three weeks, and posed a threat to the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, prompting the mediators to search for solutions to save the agreement.
In the latest developments in this crisis, Israeli media said that negotiations are currently taking place between the United States and Turkey to settle the issue of these stranded fighters.
According to the Israeli Channel 13, Tel Aviv is aware of these negotiations and is considering releasing Hamas militants and deporting them to Türkiye, from where they will be distributed to several countries.
The channel quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Israel would likely allow this step if the Americans pressed in this direction.
According to the first phase of the ceasefire agreement reached last month through international mediation, the entire city of Rafah is now behind what is known as the “yellow line,” an area under the control of the Israeli occupation army, including areas still under active resistance tunnels, as there are likely to be between 150 and 200 fighters there, according to Israeli estimates.
The issue of stranded fighters came to the fore on the 19th and 29th of last month following two “security incidents” in which 3 Israeli soldiers were killed. The occupation army responded with widespread and violent bombardment targeting various areas of the Gaza Strip, resulting in nearly 300 Palestinians martyred and wounded.
In light of these developments, Israeli officials insisted that Hamas fighters had two options: surrender or death, which had a negative impact on the delivery of the bodies of dead Israeli prisoners and led to delays on more than one occasion.
For its part, Hamas informed the mediators guarantoring the Gaza Agreement that it was ready to remove the fighters, but stressed that “surrender is not in its dictionary,” and warned of escalation if the occupation forces attempted to storm the positions of its fighters.
In a related context, media reports spoke of American attempts to contain the crisis, as American envoy Jared Kushner asked the Israelis to allow fighters in Rafah to move to the Hamas-controlled area in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
The broadcaster added that Kushner said that the fighters will hand over their weapons as part of making the Gaza Strip a demilitarized zone, noting that there are estimates in Israel that the crisis will be resolved, because Washington will not allow anything to happen that might lead to the collapse of the agreement.
In the past hours, news leaked about a proposal to completely remove the stranded fighters outside the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who is wanted by the International Criminal Court – said a few days ago in the Knesset that the fate of Hamas militants “will be determined in what serves Israel,” stressing that his government “will not submit to the dictates of Hamas and pressure from within and without,” he said.