Jerusalem, Nov 26 : The Israeli military said its forces killed five militants who emerged from a tunnel shaft in Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops searching the area "identified and eliminated" five armed men, Xinhua news agency reported.

An IDF spokesperson told Xinhua the incident "occurred within the IDF's operational area, east of the 'yellow line'," which designates areas under Israeli control in the Gaza Strip.

The five were likely among dozens of militants trapped in an underground tunnel in eastern Rafah, according to the IDF. According to Israel's Ynet news site, 22 of them have been killed or captured in recent days after emerging from the tunnels in search of water and food.

The IDF also released photos of weapons it said were seized from the militants, showing three Kalashnikov rifles.

Despite the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, Israel has continued to carry out nearly daily attacks across Gaza, killing at least 345 people and injuring 889 others, according to Gaza's health authorities.

The authorities said Israeli strikes have killed around 70,000 people and wounded more than 170,800 since October 2023, leaving much of the enclave in ruins.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces entered Israel with the coffin of a deceased hostage that was handed over by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad earlier on Tuesday, the IDF said.

Ran Gvili, Dror Or and Thai citizen Sudthisak Rinthalak are the three hostages yet to return to Israel since October 7, 2023. The remains will now be transferred to Israel's National Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification.

/IANS