Al Jazeera reported on Sunday afternoon that the Hamas terrorist organization is demanding the evacuation of hundreds of its members trapped in the Rafah area, south of the IDF-controlled Yellow Line in the southern Gaza Strip.
According to the report, mediators are holding discussions with both Israel and Hamas in an effort to reach an arrangement that would allow the terrorists to leave the area safely.
Under the emerging proposal, the evacuation would take place along designated routes, with Red Cross vehicles escorting the convoys to prevent direct encounters with IDF forces.
Sources quoted by Al Jazeera claimed that Hamas has already agreed to the proposed framework, and the mediators are now awaiting Israel’s official position.
Shortly before the report on the evacuation demand, Hamas announced that it had located the bodies of three Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. Among them, it claimed, was the body of Colonel Asaf Hamami, commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division, who was killed in battle on October 7.
The timing of Hamas’ announcement has raised speculation that the organization may be attempting to pressure Israel into approving the evacuation in exchange for the return of the bodies.
As of this writing, neither the Israeli government nor the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit has issued an official response. Hamas has not stated whether it intends to return the bodies to Israel.
It should be noted that terrorists from the Rafah area-where the evacuation is reportedly being sought-were recently responsible for the killing of three IDF soldiers