IAF airstrike kills terrorists emerging from tunnel in Rafah as Hamas cease-fire continues

IDF soldiers overnight identified eight terrorists emerging from underground infrastructure in eastern Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip, prompting an airstrike that killed at least three of them, the Israel Defense Forces said on Friday.

According to the IDF, the Israeli Air Force carried out additional strikes against areas where the remaining terrorists attempted to flee.

“The results of those strikes are under review,” the arm said, adding that troops were continuing ground searches in the area to locate and eliminate remaining threats.

Forces operating under Southern Command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement with Hamas and will continue acting to remove any immediate danger to Israeli troops, the military said.

The ceasefire, which took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, remains in place despite ongoing security incidents.

The operation followed a separate precision strike targeting a terrorist planning what the IDF described as an imminent attack against troops operating in southern Gaza.

Ahead of that strike, the army took steps to mitigate harm to noncombatants, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the military remains focused on completing two core missions: disarming Hamas and dismantling terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.

“I hear even now the statements that we will allow the reconstruction of Gaza before demilitarization. That will not happen,” Netanyahu said.

Speaking to lawmakers at the Knesset, Netanyahu said Hamas disarmament “will happen—as our friend Donald Trump said—the easy way or the hard way, but it will happen.”

Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk, however, told Al Jazeera this week that the group never agreed to disarmament as part of the US-brokered ceasefire framework.

“Not for a single moment did we talk about surrendering weapons,” Abu Marzouk said, claiming the issue was never raised in negotiations.

A US official told JNS that Hamas demilitarization remains central to long-term stability in Gaza and is a key component of the ceasefire framework.

The official said the US-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza is intended to provide an alternative governing structure focused on rebuilding civilian life and stabilizing the territory.

Abu Marzouk also claimed Hamas influenced the composition of the technocratic committee’s membership, telling Al Jazeera that no one could enter Gaza without an understanding with the group.

The competing claims come as Israeli forces continue operations aimed at preventing renewed terrorist attacks while maintaining positions consistent with the current ceasefire framework.