Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels present new obstacle to Gaza ceasefire progress

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 subsequent and extra complicated section.

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

With out a timeline for the discussions, that are more likely to require vital concessions from each Israel and Hamas, there are doubts that any progress will be achieved.

One other problem has emerged not too long ago, 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 world beneath Israeli management.

Final week, US particular envoy Steve Witkoff mentioned an amnesty may very well be supplied for fighters who laid down their arms, and that this may very well be a “mannequin” for what Washington hoped to use in the remainder of Gaza.

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

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

Hamas has beforehand mentioned the fighters is not going to give up and demanded that they’re given secure passage, which has to date been rejected by Israel.

An Israeli authorities spokeswoman mentioned Netanyahu and Kushner had “mentioned section one, which we’re presently nonetheless in, to carry our remaining hostages, and the way forward for section two of this plan, which incorporates the disarming of Hamas, demilitarising Gaza, and making certain Hamas can have no function in the way forward for Gaza ever once more”.

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

Since then, greater than 69,000 folks 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 section of the ceasefire, which got here into drive final month, targeted on halting the conflict, 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 have 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 very least 240 Palestinians and is limiting the entry of assist provides.

Hamas has beforehand rejected disarmament, saying it might solely accomplish that 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. Nations are reluctant to commit troops to the multinational drive 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 anticipated 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 area controlled by Israel and another ruled by Hamas was increasingly likely, sources told the Reuters news agency, with talks about reconstruction apparently more likely to be restricted to the Israel-controlled territory.

Arab nations have already expressed issues that the present separation may develop into a everlasting partition of Gaza.

The Trump plan doesn’t embrace a pathway to Palestinian statehood – an idea which Israel rejects.