Israeli forces operating east of the Yellow Line in southern Gaza uncovered and dismantled a major Hamas tunnel network over the weekend, the IDF announced Sunday, as ceasefire violations and diplomatic disputes expose widening gaps in the fragile truce framework.
The subterranean tunnel, located in the Khan Yunis area, extended several hundred meters and included three separate living quarters. Inside, Israeli troops recovered a substantial weapons cache: 45 grenades, 35 magazines, 10 rifles, RPG rockets and launchers, explosive devices, and tactical vests.
While the IDF emphasized that its deployment aligns with the current ceasefire agreement, it noted that operations will continue to eliminate “any immediate threat.”
The discovery came amid renewed IDF airstrikes across Gaza, targeting senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives in response to what Israel described as a “serious ceasefire violation” in Rafah, where terrorists were seen emerging from tunnels.
Israeli strikes also hit a Hamas weapons depot, an arms production facility, and launch sites in central Gaza.
“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip systematically violate international law, brutally exploiting civilian infrastructure and the Gazan population as human shields for terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a statement.
Disarmament: “The easy way or the hard way”
The escalating tension comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that Gaza’s reconstruction is contingent on Hamas disarmament—a nonnegotiable condition Jerusalem has tied to long-term stability.
Speaking before the Knesset on January 27, Netanyahu stated: “I hear even now the statements that we will allow the reconstruction of Gaza before demilitarization. That will not happen.”
Quoting US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu added that disarmament “will happen—the easy way or the hard way.”
Hamas, for its part, has flatly rejected any suggestion of disarmament. Senior official Musa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that the group “never agreed” to surrender its weapons and that the matter “was never raised” during negotiations.
A US official, however, disputed that framing, telling JNS that demilitarization remains a “central pillar” of the American-backed ceasefire framework and a prerequisite for long-term governance reforms.
As part of that effort, Washington continues to support the formation of a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza—an interim authority aimed at facilitating reconstruction while sidelining Hamas from future civil control.
The dismantling of the tunnel in Khan Yunis is the latest example of how ceasefire implementation on the ground remains perilous and contested. With Hamas refusing to disarm and Israel determined not to fund Gaza’s rebuilding under armed threat, the stage is set for more confrontation—either diplomatically or militarily.
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