JERUSALEM/GAZA, Nov. 3 — Israel has rejected a request by mediators to allow about 200 militants to safely exit an underground tunnel in southern Gaza and return to an area not controlled by the Israeli military, an Israeli government official said Monday.
The militants, holed up in a tunnel in Rafah, behind the “yellow line” that marks the Israeli army’s withdrawal zone under the current ceasefire agreement, “must either surrender and be imprisoned or be killed,” the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said in a statement that on Monday morning, after identifying militants allegedly crossing the “yellow line” and posing “an immediate threat,” Israeli troops struck the militants from the air and on the ground.
Palestinian medical sources told Xinhua at least two Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces opened fire with machine guns on civilians north of Rafah.
Despite the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, at least 236 Palestinians had been killed and 600 wounded by Israeli fire, Gaza health authorities said Sunday.
It said the total death toll from Israeli strikes since Oct. 7, 2023, had reached 68,865. The Hamas-run media office on Monday accused Israel of committing 194 violations of the ceasefire, adding that the aid delivered into Gaza since Oct. 10 does not exceed 24 percent of the agreed-upon amount due to Israel’s obstruction.
Also on Monday, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem condemned Israel’s continued demolition of homes and residential areas in Gaza, saying the operations “constitute a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
He called on mediators to pressure Israel to halt the “ongoing violations,” including daily killings, the continued blockade, restrictions on aid, and the closure of the Rafah border crossing. (Xinhua)
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