DOHA, November 10. /TASS/. Some 50 to 60 militants from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, or Hamas’ armed wing, are known to be staying in the so-called Yellow Zone, or Israel-controlled areas in the Gaza Strip, the Qatari-based Al Araby television channel said.

According to the TV channel, these men are hiding in tunnels. It recalled that during consultations, the mediators have offered a possible solution to this problem but Israel and the United States rejected it.

Senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan told the Al Jazeera television channel on Sunday that the organization had notified the mediators about its readiness to withdraw its forces from the Yellow Zone. Earlier, Hamas’ armed wing blamed Israel for clashes in Rafah but refused to lay down arms, calling on the mediators to resolve this problem.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said on November 6, citing sources, that several hundred Hamas fighters were trapped in tunnels under Israel-controlled parts of the Gaza Strip, with most of them being near the city of Rafah in the south of the enclave. According to the WSJ, Israel and Arab countries estimate their number at 200-300 men. Their fate was the focus of debates during the talks on the implementation of the second phase of the deals.