A Hamas official said Saturday afternoon that the body of another Israeli hostage was located in the Rafah area.
Several hours earlier, Red Cross and Hamas vehicles entered the Al-Janina neighborhood in Rafah, where about 200 terrorist are trapped inside an Israeli military enclave, in an effort to locate the body of a kidnapped soldier, Saudi TV channel Al-Hadath reported. The IDF has not yet confirmed the report.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Thursday during a meeting of the security cabinet that there is no “chief of staff deal” regarding the roughly 200 terrorist trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah, two days after saying he would consider their release only in exchange for the return of fallen soldier Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held in Gaza since 2014. The IDF said there is no information indicating Goldin’s remains are in the Rafah tunnels.
“It is either surrender or we eliminate them. If they surrender, we will take them in their underwear to Sde Teiman (detention camp) for questioning,” Zamir told the cabinet Thursday. He also advised against moving to the next phase of the agreement with Hamas until all hostages’ bodies are returned. “I also recommend that no reconstruction begin before demilitarization,” he said.
During the meeting, a dispute broke out between ministers and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he proposed building a “model city” in a demilitarized and rebuilt area under Israeli control in Gaza. He said vetted Palestinians could enter it “to separate Hamas from the population.” Several ministers, including Gila Gamliel, Orit Strock, Zeev Elkin and Miri Regev, opposed the idea. Gamliel, who interrupted Netanyahu several times, called the plan “dangerous.” Some ministers insisted the city not be built on territory controlled by Israel. Netanyahu also said the planned international stabilization force would first deploy in the Mawasi area, which is not under Israeli control.
On Thursday, Egypt proposed that the terrorist trapped in the Rafah tunnels provide new intelligence on tunnel networks to enable their destruction. In return, they would receive “safe passage” to cross into the Hamas-controlled side of the yellow line. Two officials involved in the talks told Reuters the proposal was conveyed to both Israel and Hamas, neither of which has yet approved it, and that negotiations are still ongoing.
Special envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, said, “If they come out, raise their hands and surrender their weapons, it will be a test case for the Gaza demilitarization model.” Both the Prime Minister’s Office and Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem declined to comment.
“It is either surrender or we eliminate them. If they surrender, we will take them in their underwear to Sde Teiman detention camp) for questioning,” Zamir told the cabinet Thursday. He also advised against moving to the next phase of the agreement with Hamas until all hostages’ bodies are returned. “I also recommend that no reconstruction begin before demilitarization,” he said. border and the Stage A withdrawal line of the ceasefire agreement. The IDF is trying to use this period to destroy tunnels in that area, although such operations sometimes lead to deadly clashes. In other enclaves, such as Bani Suhaila near Khan Younis, smaller groups of Hamas fighters remain. Zamir reportedly urged the political leadership to eliminate all of them and continue searching for tunnels in both Rafah and Khan Younis.
In Rafah, however, a unique opportunity emerged. Hamas agreed to help locate the bodies of fallen soldiers in exchange for the safe transfer of its 200 trapped fighters to the Gaza-controlled side of the line. Netanyahu initially viewed the proposal positively but backed away amid criticism and threats from within his own government.
First published: 14:37, 11.08.25