From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Source close to PM denies he promised to grant trapped Hamas operatives safe passage
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
After allegations from Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman this morning that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the White House he would grant Hamas terror operatives holed up in Rafah safe passage back to Hamas territory, a “source close to Netanyahu” denies the charge.
“The prime minister did not commit to the Americans to release the terrorists from Rafah,” says the source.
Notably, the source does not say anything about what Netanyahu might agree to in the coming days.
Some 100-200 Hamas terrorists are in tunnels inside Israeli-controlled territory in the southern Gaza Strip, with the Trump administration reportedly pushing for a deal that would grant them clemency in exchange for disarming.
The Times of Israel Community.