Hamas called yesterday for mediator countries to pressure Israel. The group wants Israel to let dozens of Palestinian fighters leave underground tunnels where they remain trapped in Gaza.
The request came after the Israeli army announced it killed more than 20 Hamas members last week. Those fighters tried to escape from underground “terrorist infrastructure” in the area. Israeli forces also captured eight others.
Hamas stated it holds Israel fully responsible for the lives of its fighters. The group urged mediators to act immediately, apply pressure, and ensure “our sons can return to their homes.”
This is the first time the Palestinian movement has publicly admitted that some of its fighters are trapped in underground tunnels.
Israeli media have reported for weeks that 100 to 200 members of Hamas’s military wing remain besieged in a tunnel network beneath Rafah city, in a sector of Gaza under Israeli control.
Under the ceasefire agreement, brokered under US pressure and effective since 10 October, the Israeli army had to withdraw from the coastal section of the enclave beyond the so-called “yellow line” demarcation.
Israeli authorities show no willingness to accept a compromise that would allow safe exit from the underground tunnels.
In a statement, Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire terms through the “pursuit, liquidation, and arrest of resistance fighters besieged in the Rafah tunnels.”
Also read: Israel’s troops kill five fighters in Rafah
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