Israel vows to destroy Hamas 'terror' tunnels

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.

Before the Israeli offensive, officials said the tunnels stretched for several hundred kilometers, including beneath urban areas.

Some tunnels allowed access beyond the border fence into Israel, allowing surprise attacks.

Hamas expected to release hostages on Monday

Hamas said that the 48 mostly Israeli hostages — including some 20 that are still alive — held captive in Gaza would start being delivered to Israelis on Monday, AFP news agency reported.

"According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning as agreed, and there are no new developments on this matter," Osama Hamdan, a top official from the Palestinian militant group, said in an interview with AFP. 

Hamdan said militants on the ground have yet to inform Hamas' leadership about the logistics of the release.

Israel and the United States also said the hostage release was expected to take place on Monday.