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Hamas rejects surrender in Rafah, urges mediators to protect ceasefire

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 2:08 PM

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says its fighters trapped in the Israeli-held Rafah area of southern Gaza will not surrender to the regime's forces.

In a Sunday statement, the military wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, rejected reports that its fighters might lay down their weapons under a proposed mediation deal led by Egypt.

"The enemy must know that the concept of surrender and handing oneself over does not exist in the dictionary of the al-Qassam Brigades," the statement said.

Under Egypt's proposal, about 200 fighters would surrender their weapons to Egyptian authorities in exchange for safe passage to other areas of the Gaza Strip, according to mediation sources. The deal also reportedly includes the handover of information about tunnel networks in Rafah so they can be destroyed.

Hamas said it would not accept any arrangement that "serves Israel's occupation objectives," instead urging mediators to "find a solution that ensures the continuation of the ceasefire and prevents the enemy from exploiting the situation to justify more attacks."

The Rafah area has witnessed the most serious violations by Israel's military since the US-brokered deal took effect on October 10.

Israel claimed its airstrikes targeted Hamas military structures following what it called anti-tank missile attacks and gunfire on its forces. Hamas, however, denied involvement in the clashes in Rafah and reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire deal.

The al-Qassam Brigades also warned that mediators must "find a solution to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire and prevent the enemy from using flimsy pretexts to violate it and exploit the situation to target innocent civilians in Gaza."

Israel's airstrikes in the Rafah area have so far killed dozens of civilians, including women and children, according to health officials.

Days after the ceasefire agreement took effect, Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would remain closed "until further notice" in a clear violation of the ceasefire.

The regime has sealed all border crossings, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid and further deepening Gaza's already dire humanitarian crisis since March, when the regime violated a previous ceasefire agreement with Hamas.