Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels current new impediment to Gaza ceasefire progress

[ad_1] Hugo Bachega Center East correspondent , Jerusalem

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/b18b/live/c3e7b590-bf1b-11f0-aa9c-2dd9cb62df51.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/b18b/live/c3e7b590-bf1b-11f0-aa9c-2dd9cb62df51.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b18b/live/c3e7b590-bf1b-11f0-aa9c-2dd9cb62df51.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/b18b/live/c3e7b590-bf1b-11f0-aa9c-2dd9cb62df51.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/b18b/live/c3e7b590-bf1b-11f0-aa9c-2dd9cb62df51.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/b18b/live/c3e7b590-bf1b-11f0-aa9c-2dd9cb62df51.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/b18b/live/c3e7b590-bf1b-11f0-aa9c-2dd9cb62df51.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b18b/live/c3e7b590-bf1b-11f0-aa9c-2dd9cb62df51.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="AFP Hamas fighters guard an area of Gaza City where they are searching for the bodies of hostages with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in northern Gaza (3 November 2025)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> AFP Hamas desires its fighters in Rafah to be given protected passage, which has to date been rejected by Israel (file photograph)

US President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, returned to Israel on Monday, as mediators face a brand new impediment of their efforts to advance negotiations on the delicate Gaza ceasefire deal to the following and extra advanced part.

Key sticking factors stay unresolved, together with Hamas's disarmament, the reconstruction and future governance of Gaza, and the deployment of a world safety pressure to the territory.

With out a timeline for the discussions, that are prone to require important concessions from each Israel and Hamas, there are doubts that any progress might be achieved.

One other problem has emerged just lately, involving scores of Hamas fighters believed to be in tunnels beneath the southern metropolis of Rafah behind the so-called "Yellow Line", which marks the realm below Israeli management.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/684e/live/44668860-bf29-11f0-ae89-e993d0cb9b26.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/684e/live/44668860-bf29-11f0-ae89-e993d0cb9b26.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/684e/live/44668860-bf29-11f0-ae89-e993d0cb9b26.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/684e/live/44668860-bf29-11f0-ae89-e993d0cb9b26.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/684e/live/44668860-bf29-11f0-ae89-e993d0cb9b26.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/684e/live/44668860-bf29-11f0-ae89-e993d0cb9b26.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/684e/live/44668860-bf29-11f0-ae89-e993d0cb9b26.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/684e/live/44668860-bf29-11f0-ae89-e993d0cb9b26.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Israel GPO via EPA US envoy Jared Kushner (2nd Left) meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd Right) in Jerusalem (10 November 2025)" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Israel GPO through EPA Jared Kushner (2nd L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) held talks in Jerusalem on Monday

Final week, US particular envoy Steve Witkoff mentioned an amnesty might be provided for fighters who laid down their arms, and that this might be a "mannequin" for what Washington hoped to use in the remainder of Gaza.

Witkoff mentioned 200 fighters had been trapped, though this quantity has not been confirmed.

In accordance with media stories, Kushner and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, mentioned the difficulty throughout a gathering in Jerusalem on Monday.

Hamas has beforehand mentioned the fighters won't give up and demanded that they're given protected passage, which has to date been rejected by Israel.

An Israeli authorities spokeswoman mentioned Netanyahu and Kushner had "mentioned part one, which we're presently nonetheless in, to convey our remaining hostages, and the way forward for part two of this plan, which incorporates the disarming of Hamas, demilitarising Gaza, and guaranteeing Hamas can have no position in the way forward for Gaza ever once more".

The battle in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 individuals had been killed and 251 others had been taken hostage.

Since then, greater than 69,000 individuals have been killed by Israeli assaults in Gaza, in line with the Hamas-run well being ministry, whose figures the UN considers dependable.

The primary part of the ceasefire, which got here into pressure final month, centered on halting the battle, returning all hostages, and securing a surge in humanitarian assist into Gaza.

Twenty residing hostages and the stays of 24 deceased captives have been launched, with 4 our bodies remaining in Gaza.

In return, Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners from its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza who had been being held with out cost or trial. It has additionally handed over the stays of 315 Palestinians from Gaza.

Each Israel and Hamas have accused one another of violating the truce, with Israel saying Hamas has intentionally delayed the return of the stays of hostages and Hamas saying that Israel has killed at the least 240 Palestinians and is limiting the entry of assist provides.

Watch: BBC's Lucy Williamson taken to east of Gaza Metropolis in IDF-led go to

Hamas has beforehand rejected disarmament, saying it will solely achieve this as soon as a Palestinian state has been established. Israel refuses any involvement within the governance of Gaza by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which is the physique that governs components of the occupied West Financial institution. International locations are reluctant to commit troops to the multinational pressure with out clear targets, involved that their troopers would possibly find yourself confronting fighters from Hamas and different Palestinian factions.

The Israeli army presently occupies 53% of Gaza's territory and is predicted to withdraw additional within the subsequent stage of the plan.

With no indication of imminent advances within the negotiations, a de-facto partition of Gaza between the realm managed by Israel and one other dominated by Hamas was more and more probably, sources advised the Reuters information company, with talks about reconstruction apparently prone to be restricted to the Israel-controlled territory.