Israeli army claims to have killed, arrested 17 Hamas members in Rafah, southern Gaza

By Said Amori and Mohammad Sio

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) - The Israeli army claimed Saturday that its forces had killed 11 Hamas members and arrested six others during a daylong operation targeting what it called “underground infrastructure” in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip despite the ceasefire.

A military statement said that troops operating in the Rafah area “located and apprehended additional members who attempted to flee from the underground infrastructure,” concluding what it described as “a 24-hour pursuit.”

The army said the six detainees were transferred for questioning by Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, while 11 others were killed during the operation.

Hamas has not commented on the Israeli claims.

The announcement came a day after the army said it had killed five Palestinians who surfaced from a tunnel in Rafah on Friday, claiming they posed an “immediate threat” to Israeli forces operating in the south of the enclave.

Rafah lies inside areas occupied by Israeli troops as part of the “yellow line” arrangements under the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10.

Some 200 Hamas fighters are trapped in the Rafah tunnel, Israeli media say, with Israel refusing appeals from Hamas and mediators to allow them safe passage to areas under the group’s control.

A report by Egypt’s Cairo News channel earlier said Israel was attempting to use the standoff to derail the ceasefire agreement. Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied he had given Washington any commitments on the trapped fighters.

Israeli officials have publicly urged the fighters to surrender and be transferred to Israel for interrogation, or face being killed if they refuse.

Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, said previously that it has “no concept of surrender,” placing full responsibility on Israel for any clashes involving its fighters trapped in Rafah.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, primarily women and children, injured over 170,800, and reduced most of the enclave to rubble. The assault came to a nominal halt under a ceasefire deal that took effect on Oct. 10, but since then Israel has reportedly broken the ceasefire some 200 times.