Gaza / PNN / The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz highlighted the latest developments concerning Hamas fighters trapped in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, quoting Israeli army officers who confirmed that the fighters refuse to surrender.The newspaper cited an Israeli colonel who stated that Hamas fighters do not surrender, despite the army employing air and ground strikes against them. He noted that some fighters have been killed and others captured, but locating them remains extremely challenging.The officer indicated that the militants were likely part of a Hamas force in Rafah, though the army did not encounter them initially. He pointed to a pile of rubble, which seems to have been a former building, and explained that the fighters are not confined to a single tunnel but are spread across an extensive network of tunnels, which must be mapped and located.Regarding their refusal to surrender, he said: “The Israeli army’s objective is to force the fighters to gather at a single underground point and attack them if they refuse to surrender.” He emphasized that after two years of war, the fighters still do not give in, and the army continues to search the tunnels, a task that is far from over.He added: “Our main mission here is to kill or capture the fighters inside the tunnels in this area.” He claimed that most of the fighters remain underground, with some surfacing for air or to retrieve equipment and food, while the army uses multiple combat methods to locate and strike them.He noted: “Under every pile of rubble, there could be a tunnel entrance or passage,” pointing out that tens of thousands of homes in Rafah, Tel al-Sultan, and the Al-Jneina neighborhood have been destroyed, and any of these could conceal a tunnel entrance.According to Haaretz, one Israeli army commander expects that destroying all tunnels could take up to two years.The newspaper also covered a recent tour by military journalists in Rafah, specifically in the Al-Jneina neighborhood, noting: “A convoy of Golani Brigade reconnaissance vehicles arrived at the Kerem Shalom crossing, where the convoy commander invited journalists to a briefing before entering Gaza.”Haaretz continued: “As the Chief of Staff concludes his series of meetings, the convoy passes along the Philadelphia axis, through Rafah and surrounding neighborhoods, offering a glimpse of the consequences of failures committed by these army leaders, who now await their fate.”It reported that at a small site in Rafah, the Golani Brigade reconnaissance commander, Colonel A.—the second commander of the unit since the start of the war—was waiting. After fighting on all fronts, the unit’s soldiers returned to combat in Gaza over recent weeks.Over the past two weeks, they have worked with a team from the Nahal Brigade—another combat unit—focusing on the fighters trapped in the tunnels in Rafah.Haaretz noted that Israeli estimates predict dozens of fighters in the tunnels, perhaps around 100, though the exact numbers remain unclear. Tel Aviv is aware that the chances of locating them all are slim. Fighters periodically emerge above ground, and soldiers attempt to capture them during these brief appearances.