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Prime Minister Netanyahu

US Pressures Israel to Allow Safe Passage for 100 to 200 Hamas Operatives in Rafah

The United States has pressed Israel to permit a limited group of approximately 100–200 Hamas operatives, believed to be trapped in tunnels on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line in southern Rafah, to depart without being targeted, a move described on Wednesday, November 5, by a Middle Eastern diplomat. The proposal, framed as a pilot for a broader disarmament-and-amnesty track within Washington’s evolving plan to end the Gaza conflict, centers on getting fighters out of a volatile pocket without triggering combat that could jeopardize the fragile truce architecture.

Under the idea being weighed, the operatives would surrender their weapons to a US-led civil-military coordination hub in Kiryat Gat and receive escorted passage either to a third country or into areas west of the Yellow Line that remain under Hamas control. While Israeli officials have engaged on the contours, Jerusalem has signaled it would not agree to blanket amnesty, citing the need to detain individuals implicated in attacks. The dialogue has also included Turkish involvement and attempted ultimata from mediators that, to date, have not been heeded by the fighters.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly opposed safe passage for the holed-up operatives. Separate debates have swirled around whether any arrangement should be tied to information about slain IDF Lt. Hadar Goldin’s remains; some defense officials suggested the tunnel cluster might hold clues, while the IDF clarified it has no intelligence confirming that the remains are in that specific location. Israel’s military posture has reportedly avoided actions that could risk losing those remains, even as strategists weigh how to remove the operatives without collapsing the ceasefire scaffolding.

(TOI/VFI News)

“Lord, grant Israel’s leaders discernment to protect life while upholding justice. Shield our soldiers and citizens from harm, expose deceitful schemes, and bring every hostage home. We ask that violent men abandon their ways, that truth prevails in negotiations, and that Your peace settles over all of Israel.”