US Pressures Israel to Allow Safe Passage for Hamas Operatives in Rafah

The United States has urged Israel to allow safe passage for 100 to 200 Hamas operatives currently in a tunnel network on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line in Rafah, southern Gaza. This initiative is viewed by Washington as a pilot program for a broader decommissioning and amnesty plan for Hamas fighters, aligning with President Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the Gaza conflict. Under the proposal, fighters would surrender their weapons to officials from the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat and either be granted safe passage to a third country or be allowed to retreat to Hamas-controlled areas west of the Yellow Line. The US has been in intensive discussions with Israel and Turkey on this initiative. While Israel has not outright rejected the proposal, it has resisted allowing all operatives to go free, citing concerns that some were responsible for attacks on Israelis and may need to be taken into IDF custody if they didn't want to be killed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had verbally accepted this framework when it was first unveiled at the White House in September. However, the October 9 agreement between Israel and Hamas focused solely on the initial ceasefire, IDF pullback, hostage-prisoner swap, and humanitarian aid, leaving the question of safe passage unresolved. Publicly, Netanyahu has taken a harder line, with his office issuing a statement last week asserting that Israel will not grant safe passage to the holed-up Hamas fighters. A US official indicated that Egyptian and Qatari mediators had informed Hamas on October 28 that the group had 24 hours to evacuate its fighters from the Israeli side of the Yellow Line or risk being exposed to Israeli fire. However, it remained unclear whether Israel was on board with the ultimatum and would have been willing to grant safe passage to Hamas fighters who came out of the Rafah tunnel network before the deadline expired. Ultimately, the ultimatum didn't work, as no fighters heeded it and talks on securing their safe passage in order to avoid a firefight that could risk the ceasefire dragged on. Earlier this week, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir recommended to political officials that Israel should condition the safe passage of the operatives from Rafah to Hamas-held areas of the Strip on the return of long-time slain hostage Lt. Hadar Goldin. Some Israeli defense officials claimed Wednesday evening that Goldin's body, who was killed and abducted by Hamas during the 2014 Gaza War, was being held in the tunnel network in Rafah, where the operatives were said to be holed up. According to those officials, the IDF avoided striking the tunnel over concerns that Goldin's remains could be lost. However, the IDF later denied having any information indicating that Goldin's remains were being held at the site, calling earlier reports "false claims that harm the family." The military added that some of the trapped operatives may know the body's location, which could be elsewhere in southern Rafah.