Overview
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel will not permit safe passage for roughly 200 Hamas fighters located beyond the Yellow Line near Rafah.
- Earlier reports in Israeli media, echoed by Al Jazeera, described a potential evacuation if the fighters disarmed and Hamas returned more bodies, including a proposal involving Red Cross vehicles.
- The Israel Defense Forces reported killing several militants who crossed the Yellow Line toward Israeli troops, and local reporting said the army began pumping cement into a Rafah tunnel where fighters are believed trapped.
- The remains of three Israelis returned from Gaza were identified as Col. Assaf Hammi, Capt. Omer Neutra, and Sgt. Oz Daniel under the ongoing truce framework.
- Hardline ministers denounced any release plan and a Knesset panel advanced a death‑penalty bill for terrorists as U.S. officials pressed Israel in parallel diplomacy, including a draft U.N. resolution for an international Gaza force.