Israel Kills Four Hamas Militants Emerging From Rafah Tunnels in Gaza
Israeli forces say dozens of Hamas fighters remain trapped in Rafah’s tunnel network, with more than 30 killed while attempting to escape on Friday alone—pressure that has now pushed Hamas to appeal to mediating states for safe passage as negotiations over the militants’ fate intensify.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Israel said on Sunday that its forces had killed four Hamas militants who emerged from tunnels in Rafah, as the fragile ceasefire in Gaza continues to strain under mounting tensions, stalled negotiations, and an increasingly complex post-war security landscape.
In a statement, the Israeli military said troops operating in eastern Rafah identified “four terrorists who exited underground infrastructure” overnight. Guided by the Israeli Air Force, the militants were “eliminated” shortly after surfacing.
Israeli officials say dozens of Hamas fighters remain entrenched in southern Gaza’s vast tunnel network, particularly beneath areas now under Israeli control.
🔴 ELIMINATED: Four terrorists who emerged from underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 30, 2025
IDF troops operating in eastern Rafah identified four terrorists who exited the underground infrastructure in the area.
Guided by the IAF, the troops eliminated all four…
Israeli forces in the Southern Command “remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” the statement added.
The military said more than 30 militants attempting to flee tunnels had been killed on Friday alone — a development that multiple sources told AFP has accelerated negotiations over the fate of fighters still trapped underground.
For the first time, Hamas last week publicly urged mediating states to pressure Israel to allow safe passage for its militants, acknowledging an increasingly dire situation in the tunnels.
The plea underscored growing cracks within the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10 under US mediation with Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar.
Under the deal, Israeli forces pulled back behind the so-called Yellow Line — a boundary marked by yellow concrete blocks inside Gaza — effectively leaving some Hamas fighters stranded in tunnel networks on the Israeli-controlled side.
A Hamas figure in Gaza estimated that between 60 and 80 of its fighters remain in that zone. Both Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the ceasefire’s terms. The war erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,221 people.
Egypt Accelerates Training for Post-War Palestinian Security Force
Amid the volatile security environment, Egypt is quietly advancing efforts to reshape Gaza’s future. Cairo has launched an extensive program to train thousands of Palestinian police officers as part of an emerging post-war security architecture — one of the first tangible steps toward reorganizing governance after months of destruction.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced in August that Cairo would train 5,000 officers, following talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa. More than 500 Palestinian officers completed an initial course in March, and since September, new cohorts from Gaza have begun rotating through intensive two-month programs in Cairo.
A Palestinian official told AFP that the entire force will be recruited from Gaza and paid by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Trainees described advanced operational instruction using modern surveillance tools and coursework addressing the October 2023 Hamas attack and its sweeping consequences.
Cairo’s program also underscores the centrality of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people — framing the initiative as part of “protecting the dream” of a future sovereign state.
A senior PA security official confirmed that President Mahmoud Abbas instructed Interior Minister Ziad Hab al-Reeh to coordinate closely with Egypt on the new security framework.
A Fragile Path Toward Post-War Governance
During Egypt-brokered talks late last year, Palestinian factions — including Hamas and Fatah — agreed to form a 10,000-member police force, with Egypt training half and the remaining 5,000 drawn from the existing Gaza police apparatus, which has operated under Hamas control since 2007. Oversight would be handled by a technocratic committee supported by all factions.
A senior Hamas official said the movement supports the “security and administrative details” agreed upon — a significant shift that reflects the group’s strategic recalculations under ceasefire pressure.
The initiative also mirrors components of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which underpinned last month’s ceasefire and was endorsed by the UN Security Council. That framework envisions an international security force to help oversee Gaza’s borders and support ongoing demilitarization efforts.
The European Union, meanwhile, is preparing to train up to 3,000 additional Palestinian police officers under a new Gaza program modeled on its longstanding West Bank training mission, funded since 2006 with an annual budget of €13 million (about $15 million).
Yet major political obstacles endure. Hamas officials warn that Israel’s cooperation on shaping the future force is unlikely, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has rejected any post-war role for Hamas or the PA in Gaza. Despite this stance, AFP journalists note that Hamas operatives continue to provide basic law-and-order functions inside the enclave.
On the critical issue of disarmament, Hamas has signaled readiness to surrender parts of its arsenal — but only within the context of a unified Palestinian political process.
As ceasefire negotiations drag on, Egypt’s training program has emerged as a cornerstone of broader international efforts to lay the foundations for a post-war Gaza.
But with Hamas fighters still hiding in tunnel networks, Israeli operations pressing on, and political divisions among Palestinian factions widening, Gaza’s future remains hostage to Hamas’s surprising maneuvers and the competing regional agendas that have prolonged instability on the ground.
Egypt’s initiative may represent the most concrete step yet toward rebuilding Gaza’s security architecture — but its success will hinge on whether diplomacy can keep pace with events unfolding beneath Gaza’s scarred landscape.
