Scores of Hamas fighters escape from tunnels in Israeli-held part of Gaza

Scores of Hamas fighters stranded for weeks in underground tunnels in a part of Gaza controlled by the Israeli military have escaped, sources briefed on the matter told The National on Wednesday.

They said an estimated 200 to 300 have over the past week made it out of tunnels in southern Gaza, emerging in separate groups in areas under either Israeli or Hamas control.

In some cases, they said, local militiamen sponsored by Israel were bribed to look the other way as the fighters came out in areas held by the Israelis.

"We don't know whether there are still any living fighters inside the tunnels," said one of the sources. "But we believe the overwhelming majority of those stranded are now either dead inside the tunnels, or free."

The fighters became stranded after a US-sponsored ceasefire took effect in Gaza on October 10, pausing the two-year war. Under the terms of the truce, Israel withdrew its troops behind a “yellow line” marking the border of Israeli-held territory.

For months, the trapped fighters have had little contact with their commanders because of Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza. Any communication has ground to a halt since the ceasefire.

Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike. Reuters

Among the stranded were elite fighters from the Hamas Khan Younis Brigade, the sources said at the weekend. They were running out of water, food and ammunition and were adamant they would never surrender, they added.

Some died of wounds sustained in clashes with Israeli troops, they said.

The fighters were believed to have been spread out across three tunnels in the Rafah area of southern Gaza.

The sources who spoke to The National on Wednesday said some fighters emerged above ground in areas inside the yellow line and were guided by the Israeli-backed militiamen to reach Hamas-controlled areas. The militiamen were bribed by Hamas, they said, without giving details.

Others, they explained, owe their freedom to repairs carried out by Hamas operatives to damaged or destroyed tunnels, thus allowing stranded fighters to emerge in Khan Younis, an area in southern Gaza controlled by Hamas.

Neither Hamas nor the Israeli military has commented on the news relayed by the sources.

Publicly, Hamas has been trying to resolve the crisis.