A temporary cease-fire deal that lasted seven days has expired without word from mediator Qatar on an extension. Israel resumed fighting in Gaza on Friday morning, minutes after the truce ended, and accused Hamas of having violated the cease-fire.
Over 100 hostages were freed during the truce, most of whom appear physically well but shaken. Israel says around 125 men are still held hostage. The 240 Palestinians released under the cease-fire were mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces.
The deal that began Nov. 24 ended after a week and multiple extensions, despite international pressure for the truce to be upheld as long as possible. Weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground campaign have left more than three-quarters of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents uprooted, leading to a humanitarian crisis.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed — roughly two-thirds of them women and minors — according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Some 1,200 Israelis have been killed, mostly during Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Currently:
— Wartime Israel shows little tolerance for Palestinian dissent.
— Blinken urges Israel to comply with international law and spare civilians.
— Nearly two months into the war, many Israelis have no idea if their relatives are dead or alive.
— Families reunite with 17 Thai hostages freed by Hamas.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s what’s happening in the war:
HAMAS SAYS ISRAEL REJECTED OFFERS FOR MORE HOSTAGE RELEASES
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The militant Palestinian group Hamas says Israel is to blame for the violence after it rejected all the offers put forward by Hamas throughout the night to release more hostages and bodies.
Hamas said in a statement that it offered to release older people as well as the bodies of hostages, including those of the Bibas family. It said that Hamas also offered to release Yarden Bibas, whose wife and two small children Hamas claimed were killed previously in Israeli airstrikes, so that he can attend their funeral. Hamas also offered to release two Israeli hostages.
“The occupation refused to accept all these offers because it had plans to resume the criminal aggression,” Hamas said. It blasted the United States and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying the U.S. approved the new plan that has killed dozens on Friday morning alone.
Hamas said its fighters and those of other factions will resume their military activities and “will break the will of the defeated occupation army.”
PALESTINIANS SAY ISRAEL IS WARNING THEM TO LEAVE PARTS OF SOUTHERN GAZA
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel dropped leaflets over parts of southern Gaza urging people to leave homes east of the town of Khan Younis, residents said Friday. The leaflets also warned that Khan Younis was now a “dangerous battle zone.”
The leaflets signaled that Israel was preparing to widen its offensive, which had so far focused largely on the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of thousands of people fled northern Gaza earlier in the war, with many taking shelter in Khan Younis and other cities in the south.
ISRAEL STRIKES THE GAZA STRIP AFTER TRUCE EXPIRES
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on different parts of the Gaza Strip after a temporary truce expired Friday, the Interior Ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.
Airstrikes hit southern Gaza, including the community of Abassan east of the town of Khan Younis, the ministry said. Another strike hit a home northwest of Gaza City.
Live footage from the Gaza Strip showed black smoke billowing from the territory.
Israel’s military said it had resumed combat operations in Gaza minutes after a temporary truce with Hamas expired at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) Friday. Israel accused Hamas of having violated the truce.
The halt in fighting began Nov. 24. It initially lasted four days, and then was extended for several days with the help of Qatar and fellow mediator Egypt.
ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE EXPIRES, RAISING THE POSSIBILITY OF RENEWED FIGHTING
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A temporary truce in the Israel-Hamas war expired Friday morning, without immediate word from mediator Qatar on an extension, raising the possibility of renewed fighting.
The truce expired at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) Friday. The halt in fighting began a week prior, on Nov. 24. It initially lasted four days, but was extended for several days with the help of Qatar and fellow mediator Egypt.
During the weeklong truce, Hamas and other militants in Gaza released more than 100 hostages, most of them Israelis, in return for 240 Palestinians freed from prisons in Israel.
Source: post
