Jerusalem, November 27 – On Wednesday, Hamas condemned the persecution of its fighters trapped in the Rafah tunnels (south of the Gaza Strip) by the Israeli army, and described its actions as a “flagrant violation of the ceasefire,” according to a statement.
The Islamic Organization’s statement said: “The brutal crime committed by the occupation through the persecution, liquidation, and arrest of fighters trapped in the tunnels of the city of Rafah constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and conclusive evidence of continued attempts to undermine it.”
On Wednesday, the Israeli army killed four gunmen who were allegedly in the tunnels of the southern city of Rafah.
First, six of them came out of a tunnel, and the armed forces bombed their location. The soldiers immediately approached the site and identified one of those killed in the attack, in addition to the killing of three other militants at the scene.
Israel is launching a campaign in Rafah against a group of Islamic militants who were trapped in the city’s tunnels when the Israeli army declared it a military zone under its control. According to the local press, the number ranges between 100 and 200 fighters.
The Hamas memo claims that it has made “great efforts” to resolve the crisis of its trapped fighters and facilitate their “return to their homes,” and subsequently called on mediators to pressure Israel to stop its attacks against them.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement in October that it lost contact with its fighters in Rafah in March, when Israel violated the ceasefire that was in effect at the time.
Nearly 70,000 people have died in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its attack on the Strip in response to the attack launched by Gaza militias on its territory on the same day, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were kidnapped.