By The Media Line Staff

Israel offered a group of Hamas fighters barricaded in a tunnel network beneath eastern Rafah the opportunity of surrendering and being relocated, according to information shared with Channel 12 by an Israeli official. The offer, delivered late last week through foreign mediators, was extended to several dozen men still cut off in an area firmly under Israel Defense Forces control.

The Israeli officials said the message was delivered through mediators to Hamas leadership outside the combat zone. The terms would allow them to surface from the tunnels, lay down their weapons, and be taken into Israeli custody. After serving time in Israeli prisons, they could later be moved to the Hamas-run parts of Gaza, provided they formally renounce involvement in terrorism and accept conditions requiring them to disarm.

Security sources say the remaining fighters have not responded through any official channel. Instead, small groups have repeatedly attempted to escape the tunnel entrances or strike at nearby Israeli units, actions that Israeli assessments view as signs that the proposal has been rejected or never clearly received by those underground. It also remains uncertain whether Hamas leadership still maintains reliable communication with the men inside the Rafah tunnel system, which has been heavily damaged during recent operations.

An Israeli official told Channel 12 that the offer presented a genuine opportunity for the group to survive. “We gave the terrorists in Rafah the option to live and to leave the tunnels,” the official said, adding that none of the conditions had been accepted. “So far, they have not agreed to meet the conditions we set. It appears they have decided to become martyrs.”

On Wednesday, six terrorists who emerged from the underground were identified. Four of them were killed and two others were arrested. This comes in addition to five terrorists who also emerged and were killed. The IDF assesses that about half of the terrorists who were there have been killed.