Analysts and experts emphasised that Israel is attempting to replace the image of the steadfast fighter, embodied by Yahya Al Sinwar fighting with his last breath, with the image of a different fighter emerging in his underclothes with a white flag raised. According to them, this is a deliberate pursuit of a media victory after Israel failed to achieve its declared objectives in the war.
In interviews with Al Jazeera Net, the analysts noted that the issue of fighters inside the tunnels is complex both militarily and security-wise, especially since the map of Gaza has shifted since the signing of the ceasefire agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh. Fighters have now become geographically located outside the yellow line, the area physically controlled by the Israeli occupation army.
Legally, they warned that what is taking place against the Palestinian resistance fighters trapped inside the Rafah tunnels in southern Gaza constitutes a grave violation of the ceasefire agreement, amounting to an act of assassination under international law. They added that Israel is placing the fighters before two bitter choices: humiliating surrender or death inside the tunnels.
The experts stressed that following any ceasefire between two warring forces, fighters withdraw to defined lines and must not be targeted in any form. They added that Israel’s actions do not constitute killing in the course of battle, but rather a direct assassination of fighters who should be protected under the ceasefire agreement.
A fabricated picture of victory
As Israel desperately seeks to secure a media victory after two years of aggression that resulted in the martyrdom of seventy thousand Palestinians, the injury of around one hundred seventy thousand, and the destruction of nearly ninety percent of Gaza’s infrastructure according to figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Director of the Jerusalem Center for Political Studies, Oraib Al Rantawi, believes that Israel has placed the Palestinian resistance before two intolerable options.
The first option, according to Al Rantawi, is “the shameful and humiliating emergence of resistance fighters from the tunnels in the image of the surrendered figure that Israel wants to present as a lesson to others, so it can capture an image of victory even if partial, and craft a counter-scene to the heroism and bravery exhibited by the Palestinian fighter over the past two years”.
The Director of the Jerusalem Centre added in remarks to Al Jazeera Net that Israel seeks to replace the image of Yahya Al Sinwar fighting with his last bullets, striking an Israeli drone with his stick while injured in a direct, point-blank confrontation, with the image of another fighter emerging in his underclothes with a raised white flag.
The second option Israel presents to the resistance is the killing of fighters inside their positions, whether through eliminating them inside the tunnels or after they emerge, according to Al Rantawi.
He asserts that Israel “continues to lie in wait for these fighters and seeks to eliminate them inside the tunnels, whether through brutal bombardment or by sealing the tunnels and cutting off water, air, and food to turn the tunnels into mass graves”.
In the same context, the security and military expert Osama Khaled concurs with this assessment, emphasising that Israel’s obstinacy and its attempt to exploit this file represent an exploitation of “the weakened position of the resistance, which is still striving to reorganise its ranks and maintain the agreement in a manner that prevents the return of the genocide against its popular base”.
Khaled underscores that the occupation army “insists on the surrender of the remaining fighters so it can secure a victory image and a grand scene to compensate for its state of weakness and cowardice before fighters who remained steadfast underground for more than two years”.
According to statements by the Israeli occupation army, it has announced killing more than forty fighters during recent raids and explosions targeting tunnels in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. In contrast, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas estimates that the number of its fighters trapped inside the tunnels ranges between eighty and one hundred, in a dire humanitarian situation where water, food, and air are almost entirely cut off.
International law and the protection of the besieged
In analysing the legal implications of what is taking place in the Rafah tunnels, the international law expert Anis Al Qassim states that the legal position is entirely clear, asserting that “what is happening to the Palestinian resistance fighters inside the tunnels is an act of assassination”.
In remarks to Al Jazeera Net, Al Qassim explained that “after any ceasefire between two fighting forces, fighters withdraw to defined lines, and they must not be targeted in any way. The ceasefire assumes their return to positions agreed upon by both sides, and it also assumes an exchange of prisoners during this period”.
He added, “Therefore, what Israel is doing is not killing in the context of battle, but a direct assassination, because these fighters should be protected under the ceasefire agreement”.
In explaining the supposed legal cover Israel attempts to use to justify its actions, the legal expert notes that Tel Aviv “relies on a law that allows it to classify fighters in the tunnels as what it calls unlawful combatants, a designation that has no basis in international law”.
He stressed that “under the Geneva Conventions, there are only two categories of persons: civilians and combatants. There is no third category in between”. He concluded from this that “the term unlawful combatants used by Israel is nothing more than a legal cover for assassination, a cover entirely incompatible with the rules of international law and one under which Israel may be prosecuted”.
However, Al Qassim does not conceal the practical difficulties in prosecuting Israel for this crime, acknowledging that “pursuing Israel before international courts on this specific point will face considerable technical obstacles”.
He clarified that for the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to initiate an investigation into this crime, “a member state of the Court must submit a formal request. In other words, the matter depends on a state willing and capable of formally adopting the case before the Court”.
Nonetheless, he expresses cautious optimism, saying “naturally, there are some states that I believe remain willing to support this type of case, but this requires the leadership of the resistance to initiate contact with such a state to file a formal request and demand that the Court investigate the new Israeli crime as an act of assassination and unlawful killing”.
The tunnels’ position in the current military balance
Reading the current military situation and the place of the tunnel file within the broader balance of power, Khaled affirms that “the issue of the fighters in the tunnels is complex from both military and security perspectives, especially since the field map has changed since the signing of the ceasefire agreement in Sharm El Sheikh”.
He explains that the fighters “have become geographically outside the yellow line, meaning within the area physically and militarily controlled by the Israeli occupation army. This means that negotiating and reaching a clear, acceptable formula guaranteeing the safe exit of the remaining fighters faces enormous challenges”.
He warns that “the fate of the fighters is unknown, and they have been placed before two choices: surrender or fighting to the last breath, especially given the complete absence of life necessities inside the tunnels”.
Nevertheless, the military expert places the tunnel file within a broader strategic context, emphasising that “in the military balance, the Rafah tunnels are a small part compared to a much wider picture with the onset of the second phase of the agreement, whose central pillars include attempts to disarm the resistance and ensure that Palestinian resistance factions do not participate in governing or administering the Gaza Strip”.
He added that “the tunnels in the end are a tool of resistance that can be repaired or rebuilt, and they represent a real and substantial element within their broader strategic context”.
However, he tempers this by saying “we do not believe that the Rafah tunnel file carries significant weight at this moment, while reiterating that the Palestinian resistance has accustomed us to major surprises at many stages, and this remains a factor to be assessed in due course”.
International and Arab responsibility
In this catastrophic situation, Al Rantawi places responsibility on multiple parties, asserting that “this responsibility does not fall solely on the shoulders of the ceasefire mediators”. What is required, he says, is “an honourable political solution that guarantees the lives of these fighters, ensures their return to the areas still under resistance control, and provides them with a dignified exit”.
He stresses that “the matter is both an Arab responsibility and an international responsibility. Watching the targeted killing of fighters inside the tunnels violates the ethics of war and its fundamental laws”.
In concluding his remarks, the Director of the Jerusalem Center for Political Studies directs a clear message to the international community, saying “the international community, and specifically the United States whose initiative became a Security Council resolution, must apply sufficient pressure on the Israeli government to guarantee an honourable exit for the fighters who have remained steadfast in the tunnels all this time”.
