Israel said it plans to destroy all remaining underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip used by fighters from the Palestinian militant group Hamas during the conflict. Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the move on the social media platform X. "Israel's great challenge after the phase of returning the hostages will be the destruction of all of Hamas' terror tunnels in Gaza," Katz wrote, adding that the operation would be carried out directly by the Israeli military under US supervision. During the two-year Gaza war, the Israeli military repeatedly reported destroying Hamas tunnels, but the extent and the degree of functionality of the remaining underground network is unclear.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told reporters that Qatar is the only country to mediate an end to Israel's war on Gaza, as he departed Israel on his way to the Qatari capital, where Gulf states on Monday pledged to activate the joint defence pact as Arab and Islamic leaders stood in solidarity following Israel's brazen attack on the Hamas leadership inside the country.