Mediation efforts by Egypt, Turkey and Qatar have been facing difficulties amid talks to decide the fate of Hamas fighters stranded in underground tunnels in areas of Gaza held by the Israeli military, sources told The National on Saturday.
Hamas's latest offer to resolve the issue, which was relayed to mediators earlier this week, provided for the fighters to come out of the tunnels and be given safe passage out of Gaza to live in exile abroad.
Israel is understood to have informed the mediators – who met in Cairo this week – that it categorically rejects the Hamas proposal, and insists the fighters must unconditionally surrender and be taken prisoner.
If they do not surrender, the Israeli military will bomb the tunnels or pick the fighters off as they attempt to flee, the sources said.
The Israeli army on Friday said it had found the bodies of nine Palestinian militants recently killed in the tunnel network beneath southern Gaza.
“So far, over 30 terrorists who attempted to flee the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah have been eliminated,” the military said.
Displaced Palestinian children watch a film at an open-air cinema in Gaza city. EPA
There are no reliable estimates of the number of fighters trapped in the tunnels, but the sources believe there could be as many as 1,000.
Among them are believed to be elite fighters from Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade. Although they are running out of water, food and ammunition, the militants are said to be adamant that they will not surrender to the Israeli military.
“If no peaceful resolution is found for the impasse, they will come out of the tunnels and engage the Israeli forces,” one source said. “They may also resort to suicide missions.”
The fighters are believed to be spread out across three tunnels in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. Hamas operatives in areas under the group's control are trying to reach them using the network of tunnels, which have been widely used to attack Israeli troops over the past two decades.
A displaced Palestinian woman sits on the stairs of a destroyed building in Gaza city. EPA
However, their task is compounded by the destruction of the tunnels during the war and the need to escape detection when carrying out repairs.
The fighters became stranded after a US-sponsored ceasefire took effect on October 10, pausing the two-year war in Gaza. Under the terms of the truce, Israel withdrew its troops behind a “yellow line”.
For months, the trapped fighters have had little contact with their commanders because of Israel's relentless bombardment of the enclave. This communication completely stopped after the ceasefire.
Palestinian children in class at Al Kamaliya Al Othmanya school in Gaza city's Old Town. AFP
The stalemate in talks on their fate is one of several stumbling blocks preventing the progress of the US-backed peace plan for Gaza.
During the first phase of the plan, Hamas released the remaining 20 living hostages and the bodies of most of the 28 who died in captivity. In return, Israel freed about 2,000 Palestinians who had been held in its prisons, and the bodies of more than 30
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