Israeli forces kills 11 Hamas terrorists who tried to flee the besieged tunnels in southern Gaza’s Rafah area, and arrested another six after a 24-hour manhunt, the Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday.
“At the end of a 24-hour pursuit, all 17 terrorists who attempted to flee the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah were either eliminated or apprehended,” the IDF announced at 7:30 p.m.
“In total, 11 terrorists were eliminated, and six were apprehended and transferred for further questioning,” the statement continued.
IDF Southern Command forces “remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any threat, dismantle terror infrastructure and defend in the area,” it added.
According to Israel’s Ynet outlet, the incident started around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, when IDF intelligence units detected the 17 terrorists emerging from the tunnel shaft. Several reportedly retreated after being fired on.
One detainee was said to have told interrogators that some 30 terrorists had been holed up inside the tunnel along with the bodies of 10 recently killed operatives. He said the group had left to search for food and water.
Jerusalem has reportedly been facing U.S. pressure not to eliminate the dozens of terrorists barricaded inside the Rafah tunnel network, which falls within IDF-controlled territory under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
Ynet reported on Nov. 11 that Israel was considering a proposal under which the trapped terrorists would surrender and lay down their weapons in return for amnesty or exile, while their tunnels would be destroyed by the IDF.
However, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al Araby Television Network on Nov. 10 that the terrorists would “not surrender,” while Turkey was reportedly also working to secure their freedom.
Some 60 to 80 terrorists are now believed to remain in the tunnel network, down from estimates of about 200 two weeks ago, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Saturday. The Israeli broadcaster cited arrested Hamas terrorists as having told interrogators that they are unable to move from tunnel to tunnel due to Israeli Air Force attacks on the underground infrastructure.
Each tunnel was said to house some 30 terrorists, with the commander of Hamas’s East Rafah Battalion overseeing the entire network, it said.
The military was preparing for the possibility that more terrorists could emerge from the tunnels and carry out attacks as their food and water provisions are starting to run out, according to Channel 12.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated earlier on Saturday that “Hamas violated the ceasefire again, sending a terrorist into Israel held territory to attack IDF soldiers. Israel has fully honored the ceasefire, Hamas has not.”
Throughout the ceasefire, “dozens of Hamas terrorists have crossed the Israeli lines to attack our troops, while they execute Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” the PMO statement continued, calling on the mediators to press Hamas to fulfill its commitments under the truce agreement.
“Hamas must immediately return the three deceased hostages it is still holding and complete its disarmament and enable the total demilitarization of Gaza,” Jerusalem stated.
The second phase of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza calls for the demilitarization of Hamas and other terror organizations while eliminating their ability to threaten the Jewish state.
Hamas still holds the remains of three slain hostages, and Israel and the U.S. have accused it of slow-walking their return to delay disarmament.
Netanyahu told reporters on Sunday that since the ceasefire went into effect on Oct. 10, “Hamas has not stopped violating it, and we are acting accordingly.
“There have been several attempts by them to infiltrate our territory beyond the [ceasefire-instituted] Yellow Line and try to harm our soldiers,” Netanyahu said, speaking ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting.
“We thwarted these with great force and responded, exacting a very heavy price,” said the premier. “Many terrorists were eliminated, and others were captured from the tunnels in Rafah.”
In response to Saturday’s ceasefire agreement, the Israeli Air Force targeted Hamas terrorists in precision strikes across Gaza, the military stated on Sunday.
One of the strikes killed Alaa’ Haddadeh, who served as the head of supply for the terror group’s production headquarters, the IDF said.
The slain terrorist was a “central source of knowledge” serving Hamas’s supply and production systems, according to the IDF. “During the war, he operated to transfer weapons from Hamas’s headquarters to battalion and field commanders for use against IDF troops.”
