In the wake of the fragile truce brokered on 10 October, the southern enclave of Rafah has emerged as a flash-point. Fighters from the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance movement have declared they will not surrender their arms or accept evacuation under the terms proposed by Egyptian mediators, a stance that now threatens to unravel the fragile cessation of hostilities. 

The mediators’ plan reportedly offered safe passage out of the Israeli-controlled zone of Rafah in exchange for weapons surrender and tunnel disclosures. But the Palestinian fighters and their political leadership reject any clause that appears to support the occupier’s objectives or undermines their presence in Rafah. Instead, they call on third-party mediators to guarantee the ongoing survival of the truce and to prevent the adversary from exploiting any weak moment to recommence genocidal war operations. 

Meanwhile, the blockade of Rafah’s crossings, the entry of humanitarian aid, and repeated aerial strikes despite the truce reveal how the cessation remains deeply vulnerable. Many in Gaza fear that the current arrangements serve as a pretext for further operations that punish the civilian population rather than protect them.