The Israeli military has reported eliminating over 40 Hamas operatives during intensive tunnel clearance operations in southern Gaza’s Rafah region over the past week. According to official statements released Sunday, these targeted missions focused on dismantling underground networks beneath Israeli-controlled zones where dozens of militants remain entrenched.
The operations, concentrated in eastern Rafah for 40 consecutive days, have resulted in the destruction of numerous tunnel shafts and terrorist infrastructure sites both above and below ground. This development comes amid delicate negotiations regarding the fate of an estimated 60-80 Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line demarcation boundary established under the current ceasefire agreement.
Hamas official Husam Badran stated the group’s fighters ‘cannot accept surrendering or handing over their weapons to the occupation,’ while accusing Israel of stalling the transition to the next phase of the US-brokered truce. The ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar alongside American diplomats, took effect October 10 but remains precarious with mutual violations alleged by both sides.
The conflict originated with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,221 Israelis. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has resulted in at least 70,103 Palestinian fatalities according to Gaza’s health ministry, with 356 additional deaths reported since the ceasefire began. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains critically severe as diplomatic efforts continue to address both the immediate tunnel standoff and broader regional stability concerns.