In a categorical way, its armed wing Hamas made it clear that it would not surrender its fighters located in the Rafah area, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip controlled by its army Israel.
After the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas came into force, there were bloody clashes between Palestinian fighters and IDF forces in Rafah, which almost led to a complete breakdown of the ceasefire.
Sources close to the negotiation mediation efforts had stated on Thursday (07.11.2025) to the Reuters news agency that the fighters could surrender their weapons in exchange for passage to other areas of the Gaza Stripin the context of a proposal aimed at resolving the impasse.
It was about an offer by Egyptian mediators, in return for safe passage, for the militants still in Rafah to hand over their weapons to Egypt and provide details of the tunnels’ locations so they can be destroyed, one of the sources, an Egyptian security official, said.
For their part, the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, urged negotiators to find a solution to a crisis that threatens the month-long ceasefire.
Also, Hamas holds Israel responsible for any involvement with Hamas fighters in Rafah, since the area is under the control of the IDF and thus considers itself to be defending itself against Israeli troops.