As demolitions continue in southern Gaza, Israel’s leadership remains divided over how to resolve the standoff involving dozens of resistance fighters trapped underground.
Israeli occupation forces continued demolition operations in the Gaza Strip on Friday, despite the ceasefire that has been in effect since October 10.
Al-Jazeera reported that the Israeli army carried out house demolitions under artillery fire in the eastern areas of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced that he had instructed the army to destroy all tunnels in the Gaza Strip, saying in a post on X that the tunnels would be eliminated “down to the last one.”
Katz argued, “If there are no tunnels, there will be no Hamas,” without specifying which areas would be targeted or offering a timetable for implementation. His directives come as Israel continues to conduct operations east of the so-called Yellow Line, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The Yellow Line, established under the terms of the ceasefire, separates areas under direct Israeli military control to the east from areas where Palestinian civilians are permitted to move in the west.
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Despite this, Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted Palestinians west of the line with shelling and gunfire, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries.
The ceasefire agreement halted a two-year Israeli military campaign that began on October 8, 2023 and resulted in more than 68,000 Palestinians killed and over 170,000 wounded, with destruction affecting approximately 90 percent of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, political and military discussions continue in Israel regarding the fate of dozens of Palestinian resistance fighters trapped inside a tunnel in Rafah.
Israeli media reported that the tunnel lies on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line and contains an estimated 120 to 150 members of the Al-Qassam Brigades.
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According to Channel 12, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir opposed allowing any evacuation of those inside, insisting during an inner cabinet meeting that the situation “must end either with their killing or their surrender.”
Zamir reportedly stated that surrender would mean the fighters emerging “blindfolded, in their underwear, with their hands tied,” to be transferred to the Sde Teiman detention facility.
Zamir also opposed advancing to the next phase of the exchange agreement before the recovery of the bodies of Israeli soldiers held in Gaza, insisting that reconstruction should not begin before what he described as the “complete disarmament” of the Gaza Strip.
During the same meeting, Katz acknowledged that the possibility of deporting the trapped fighters had been discussed earlier, but said the idea was dropped after he claimed that Hamas carried out attacks during previous ceasefire periods.
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These developments come amid an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
The Israeli military campaign, displacement, widespread destruction, collapse of infrastructure and services, and severe shortages of food, clean water, and medical supplies have resulted in famine-like conditions that have claimed additional lives and left the population in what humanitarian organizations describe as extreme and ongoing emergency.
(PC, AJA)
68000 number martyred has not changed in years . What a shame!