The Israeli military announced yesterday, Sunday, that last week it killed over 40 Palestinian fighters during operations targeting tunnels in the Rafah area of southern Gaza Strip, an enclave that has suffered extensive damage after two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
According to the related announcement, military forces have been operating east of Rafah for approximately 40 days, aiming to destroy the underground tunnels that remain active in the area and neutralize the fighters inside them.
“During the past week, more than 40 terrorists were eliminated in the sector where the tunnel network is located” and “dozens of tunnel entrances and terrorist infrastructure facilities were destroyed, both on the surface and underground in the area,” it continued. Earlier, the Israeli military had announced that it killed four Palestinian fighters as they emerged from tunnels in Rafah.
Several sources with knowledge of the discussions told the French Press Agency on Thursday that negotiations are underway regarding the fate of dozens of fighters from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, who have been trapped for weeks inside tunnels in the Gaza Strip sector controlled by the Israeli military.
According to a Hamas official in Gaza, “between 60 and 80 fighters” are trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah.
“Our fighters in Rafah cannot accept surrendering or handing over their weapons to the occupation (Israel),” Hamas senior official Hossam Badran said in a statement on Sunday.
