The military does not mention which Palestinian faction the "terrorists" allegedly belonged to, only that they were found in tunnels.
"So far, over 30 terrorists who tried to escape the underground terrorist infrastructure in eastern Rafah have been eliminated," it added.
An unknown number of Hamas members have been trapped in tunnels in southern Gaza for weeks. On Wednesday, Hamas called on mediators to pressure Israel to grant them safe passage, in a statement confirming the situation for the first time.
These are areas on the Israeli-controlled side of the so-called Yellow Line behind which Israeli soldiers have withdrawn in accordance with the first phase of the ceasefire declared in October.
Several sources told the AFP news agency on Thursday that negotiations are underway on a solution that would potentially give Hamas members free rein to areas beyond Israeli control.
However, Israel's military has so far insisted that it will continue to kill or capture those it finds on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line.
