IDF strikes five terrorists who emerged from Rafah tunnel
Gunmen crossed east of Gaza’s Yellow Line, marking the boundary for IDF-controlled territory, and approached troops before being struck by the Air Force, according to the IDF.
The IDF killed five terrorists who emerged from a tunnel in eastern Rafah, in Gaza east of the Yellow Line, the military said Friday.
The Yellow Line marks the boundary between IDF-controlled and Hamas-controlled territory in Gaza.
According to the IDF, the Israel Air Force struck the cell shortly after it was identified near the ceasefire boundary.
The gunmen approached troops deployed in southern Gaza and posed an immediate threat, the military said.
Troops in Southern Command remain positioned in accordance with the ceasefire framework and will act against any immediate threat, the military added.
IDF troops operate behind Yellow Line in southern Gaza, November 20, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
The IDF assessed with a high probability that these terrorists killed were part of the approximately 200 terrorists that remain in the “terror pocket” trapped within the tunnel system in eastern Rafah behind the Yellow Line, according to Army Radio.
Terrorists forced to emerge from tunnels due to IDF activity
This is due to the fact that the area where they were killed, near the Jenina neighborhood, is where the terrorists are trapped. The IDF has been operating recently to destroy the tunnels.
As a result of this, the terrorists have been forced to emerge as the IDF closes in on them, the IDF assessed.
When the gunmen emerged from the tunnel, they initially tried to flee. They were observed hunched over and running, according to Army Radio.
Earlier in November, IDF troops killed three out of four terrorists they shot at across the Yellow Line as troops dismantled tunnels in Rafah. They were also assessed to be part of the “terror pocket” in Rafah.
The IDF is continuing to scan the area. Two brigades are holding the territory.
