IDF kills 2 gunmen in Rafah firefight, search for additional suspects
Senior government official says Islamic Jihad knows where last slain hostage Ran Gvili is located
The Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday that forces had killed at least two armed suspects in western Rafah, located on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line in the southern Gaza Strip.
The clash started after soldiers identified six armed individuals close to troops deployed in the area.
According to the military, tanks deployed to the scene and opened fire, prompting the gunmen to return fire at one of the tanks, and triggering a firefight that also included airstrikes in the area.
So far, two of the suspects have been killed, the IDF said, adding that forces are continuing to search the area for the remaining gunmen and that the incident is still ongoing.
The military said the incident constitutes a blatant violation of the October ceasefire agreement.
Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both sides have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.
Three IDF soldiers have been killed during the same period.
The flare-up in violence came even as Israel and other countries prepared for the onset of the Gaza ceasefire’s second phase, which the US is set to launch in the coming days.
Phase two is meant to establish longer-term governance and security frameworks for the enclave. But Israel is insisting that Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the final deceased hostage held in Gaza, is returned before the deal advances and on Tuesday reiterated that it rejects claims by the Gaza terror groups that they can’t locate his body.
Israel is “working every day, all day and night,” to return Gvili’s body to Israel, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
“The efforts are being done through the negotiating team, and contacts with the mediators, also through connections with the Americans, as well as intelligence actions,” the official said.
“There are those in the Islamic Jihad who know where Ran Gvili is,” the official continued, referring to the last slain hostage held in Gaza.
“We are not going to give up on this. Information we have given to the mediators multiple times, including recently, must be translated into effective actions to bring him back,” said the official. “That message has been communicated.”
Last week, multiple sources told The Times of Israel that US President Donald Trump aims to begin the second phase of the ceasefire, even as Gvili remains held in Gaza. Trump is set to announce the Board of Peace, which will supervise Gaza’s on-the-ground government.
Trump’s move comes as other key pieces of the ceasefire have yet to occur, such as Hamas’s disarmament, which the terror group has rejected, and the opening of the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
The Times of Israel Community.