US presses Israel to provide safe passage for Hamas militants
According to a VNA correspondent in Tel Aviv, the “Times of Israel” newspaper on November 5 quoted a Middle Eastern diplomat as saying that the US is urging Israel to grant safe passage to 100-200 Hamas fighters currently hiding in a network of tunnels on the Israeli-controlled “Yellow Line” in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.
The US sees this as a pilot step for a broader disarmament and amnesty program it hopes to apply to Hamas militants, in line with President Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Under Washington’s plan, Hamas fighters would be allowed to exit the tunnels and then hand over their weapons to members of the US-led civil-military coordination center based in Kiryat Gat. These fighters would then be allowed to move safely to a third country or be allowed to withdraw west of the “Yellow Line,” which is de facto under Hamas control.
While not outright rejecting the US proposal, Israel has resisted demands to release all Hamas militants, arguing that some of them are responsible for attacks on Israelis and would be detained.
* In another related move, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on the same day that the country's military (IDF) will destroy Hamas tunnels and eliminate terrorist elements inside Israeli-controlled areas in Gaza "without any restrictions."
“Israel’s goal, in addition to freeing all hostages, is to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza,” Mr. Katz affirmed.
The announcement comes amid reports that Israel is considering allowing Hamas militants trapped in Rafah to return to areas controlled by the force in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli estimates, there are currently about 200 Hamas militants hiding in a network of tunnels under IDF-controlled areas in southern Gaza, especially Rafah, and cannot retreat to Hamas-controlled areas without being detected by the Israeli army.
* Also on November 5, the Director of the Turkish Intelligence Agency met with Hamas' Chief Negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya in Istanbul and discussed the roadmap for implementing the next stages of the ceasefire plan in Gaza.
During the meeting, the two sides also discussed measures to ensure the ceasefire process goes smoothly and ways to overcome current problems.
The Gaza ceasefire took effect on October 10, after two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas. In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released all 20 surviving Israeli hostages and promoted the return of the bodies of the dead hostages, in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian security prisoners. However, the two sides are still disagreeing on issues of the next phase of the ceasefire, such as disarming Hamas and withdrawing Israeli troops from Gaza.