Trump Administration Presses Israel to Resolve Hamas Fighters Crisis in Rafah

SadaNews - CNN reported, citing two Israeli sources, that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is pressuring Israel to make progress towards practical solutions regarding Hamas fighters in the tunnels of Rafah behind the yellow line, where the Israeli army is deployed. The sources told the American network that the issue was discussed in meetings between U.S. envoy Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week. An Israeli source told CNN that the Americans want to move forward to the next stage of the Gaza agreement and close the file on Rafah fighters, while the other source added that the repatriation of Hamas fighters to a third country was one of the ideas proposed for discussion. A Crisis Threatening the Agreement The crisis of the Hamas fighters trapped in the tunnels of Rafah has emerged in the area under occupation for more than three weeks, posing a threat to the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, prompting mediators to seek solutions to salvage the agreement. Earlier, Israeli media reported that negotiations were currently underway between the United States and Turkey to settle the issue of these trapped fighters. According to Channel 13, Tel Aviv is aware of these negotiations and is considering allowing Hamas militants to leave for Turkey, from where they would be distributed to several countries. The channel quoted a senior Israeli official expressing that Israel would allow this move if the Americans pressured in that direction. According to the first phase of the ceasefire agreement reached last month with international mediation, the entire city of Rafah has become behind what is known as the "yellow line," an area under the control of the Israeli occupation army, including areas that still have functioning tunnels for resistance, where there is an estimated 150 to 200 fighters according to Israeli assessments. The issue of the trapped fighters surfaced on the 19th and 29th of last month following "two security incidents" that led to the deaths of three Israeli soldiers, prompting the occupation army to respond with extensive and intense bombardments targeting various areas of the Gaza Strip, resulting in approximately 300 Palestinian martyrs and injured. Hamas and Israel's Positions In light of these developments, Israeli officials insisted that Hamas fighters face two options: surrender or death, which negatively impacted the delivery of the bodies of the deceased Israeli soldiers and delayed it on more than one occasion. For its part, Hamas informed the guarantor mediators of the Gaza agreement that it is prepared to remove the fighters but stressed that "surrender is not in its vocabulary," warning of escalation if the occupation forces attempt to storm its fighters' positions. In related developments, media reports mentioned American attempts to contain the crisis, as U.S. envoy Jared Kushner requested the Israelis to allow the fighters in Rafah to move to Hamas-controlled areas in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli broadcasting agency. The broadcasting agency added that Kushner stated that the fighters would surrender their weapons as part of making the Gaza Strip a demilitarized zone, indicating that there are estimates in Israel that the crisis will be resolved, as Washington will not allow anything that could lead to the collapse of the agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – wanted by the International Criminal Court – said a few days ago in the Knesset that the fate of Hamas militants "will be determined by what serves Israel," stressing that his government "will not submit to Hamas's dictates or internal and external pressures," as he stated.