The presence of the militants, who have killed three Israeli troops, is threatening to unravel the fragile cease-fire.

Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) -Hamas fighters holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza would surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other areas of the enclave under a proposal to resolve an issue seen as a risk to the month-old truce,

Itay Chen's remains were returned to Israel via the Red Cross on Tuesday, meaning seven dead hostages now remain in Gaza.

The set of remains handed over to Israel on Tuesday were those of Itay Chen, the final remaining American Israeli hostage, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Rejecting a Hamas exchange proposal, Smotrich emphasizes eliminating terrorists and backs Israel’s independence in Gaza, despite ongoing US involvement in stabilization efforts. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich emphasized the need to eliminate the hundreds of terrorists on the Israeli side of Gaza's Yellow Line in Rafah,