JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Israel said Monday that it will decide on the fate of 200 Hamas fighters trapped in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in coordination with the Trump administration.

Any decision regarding the Hamas fighters “will be made in cooperation with the Trump administration,” Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, said in statements carried by the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

She said Netanyahu held talks on Monday with US envoy Jared Kushner to discuss issues related to disarming Hamas, demilitarizing Gaza, and ensuring Hamas does not take part in governing the enclave.

Kushner arrived in Israel on Sunday for talks with Israeli officials on the Gaza ceasefire deal that took effect on Oct. 10.

Israel has repeatedly refused to grant exit to Hamas fighters stranded in Rafah, despite efforts by mediators to solve the issue.

Estimates suggest that there are nearly 200 Hamas fighters trapped in Israel-held areas in Rafah. The Palestinian group demanded mediators to provide safe passage for them.

Netanyahu has previously said that any decision regarding the Hamas fighters will be taken independently.

On Thursday, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said that there would be “no deal” with the trapped fighters, stressing that they would either be eliminated or forced to surrender and be transferred for interrogation at the Sde Teiman detention camp in southern Israel.

Under the first phase of Gaza ceasefire, Hamas released 20 Israeli captives alive and handed over the remains of 26 out of 28, most of them Israelis, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians.

The second phase of the plan envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 69,000 people and injured more than 170,600, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.