Turkiye mediates Rafah fighters talks

Turkiye has joined U.S. and Arab mediation over the fate of Hamas fighters still holed up in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, according to Reuters reporting published by Arab News on November 10, 2025. The talks concern roughly 200 fighters in tunnels inside an Israeli-controlled zone, according to the report. A ceasefire brokered by the United States remains in force, but the Rafah file has become one of the most sensitive unresolved pieces of the arrangement. Humanitarian movement remains limited, with Reuters-reported dispatches this week saying many Gazans are barred from Hajj travel and will mark a third Eid al-Adha without animal sacrifice. ### Which fighters are mediators trying to move? Reuters reported on November 10, 2025, that about 200 Hamas fighters were dug into tunnels in the Rafah area and that their fate had complicated efforts to stabilize the ceasefire. The report, published by Arab News, cited a Palestinian source, a Hamas official and Turkish officials as saying Turkiye was working with the United States and Arab mediators on safe passage. (arabnews.com) Rafah has been one of the hardest issues in the truce because the area is under Israeli control while Hamas fighters remain present there, according to related Reuters and AFP reports carried by Arab News. Hamas’s armed wing later said the fighters would not surrender to Israel, while urging mediators to find a solution. ### What is the formula under discussion? Reuters reported on November 6, 2025, that mediators had floated a formula under which fighters in Rafah would surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other parts of Gaza. (arabnews.com) That report said Egyptian mediators proposed the fighters hand over weapons to Egypt and provide tunnel details so the tunnels could be destroyed. Arab News’ November 10 Reuters dispatch said Turkiye was helping pursue safe passage as part of those efforts. (arabnews.com) Hamas has not publicly confirmed acceptance of the formula described in the reports, and Israel has resisted arrangements that would leave armed Hamas members elsewhere in Gaza, according to the same reporting. ### Why does Rafah still matter if the ceasefire is holding? The ceasefire remains in place, but the Reuters and AFP reports indicate that implementation still depends on what happens to armed Hamas members in areas Israel controls. (arabnews.com) Rafah matters because it combines military control, tunnel networks and the question of whether fighters can be disarmed, relocated or detained under a truce framework. (arabnews.com) Israeli objections have centered on any outcome that could allow Hamas fighters to regroup elsewhere in the enclave, according to the Reuters-reported Arab News dispatch. Hamas, for its part, has publicly rejected surrender to Israel. ### What does Gaza’s civilian picture look like this week? Reuters reported on May 20, 2026, that Gazans are barred from the Hajj pilgrimage and face a third Eid al-Adha without animal sacrifice as the holiday approaches. (arabnews.com) Eid al-Adha will begin on May 27 this year, according to the AFP report published by NDTV. Gaza’s agriculture ministry said Israeli restrictions meant no sacrificial animals were available for a third straight year. The Hamas-run government media office said only 5,304 people had traveled in and out of Gaza since February, less than a third of the number expected, according to the NDTV report. Reuters reporting carried by Arab News said Israel had allowed only a partial reopening of the Rafah crossing to Egypt in February, restoring limited access to Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world. (ndtv.com) ### What are outside groups saying about aid and relief? Common Dreams reported on May 20, 2026, that a rights group accused President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” of failing to improve conditions in Gaza. The article said Palestinians remained hungry, struggled to reach medical care and continued to face violence. Those claims were presented by the publication as criticism from an advocacy group, not as an official assessment by mediators. (ndtv.com) Reuters-based reporting provides the more concrete benchmark for current access: the crossing at Rafah is only partially open, outbound travel remains tightly restricted, and holiday movement for Hajj has not resumed for most Gazans. ### What comes next in the talks? Turkish, U.S., Egyptian and other Arab mediators remain the named participants in the Rafah discussions, according to the November 2025 Reuters reporting. (commondreams.org) The next test is whether they can produce a formula acceptable to Israel and Hamas over the roughly 200 fighters still at issue in Rafah. On the civilian side, May 27 is the next immediate date, when Gazans are due to mark Eid al-Adha under the same movement and supply restrictions described in this week’s Reuters and AFP dispatches. (arabnews.com 1) (arabnews.com 2)