The truce that Israel and Hamas maintained was broken this Friday morning and the exchange of fire resumed, after seven days of ceasefire that allowed the release of some hostages captured by the islamist group in exchange for the release of prisoners Palestiniansofficial sources reported.
“Hamas violated the operational pause and also fired into Israeli territory. The Israel Defense Forces have resumed fighting against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli Army reported in a statement.
(You can read: What the Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas experienced).
Shortly before 6:00 a.m. local time (4:00 GMT), anti-aircraft sirens began to activate in Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip.
“Following the initial report about the sirens at Kibbutz Holit, several launches were identified from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory. The launches were not intercepted according to protocol,” an Army spokesperson said.
“Israel Defense Forces fighter jets are currently attacking Hamas terrorist targets in the Strip,” he added.
For its part, the Gaza Ministry of the Interior, controlled by Hamas, confirmed that “the Israeli aviation flies over the Strip and its vehicles have opened fire in the northwest of the enclave.”
According to Palestinian media, the Israeli attacks cover the north and south of the Palestinian enclave, including residential areas, and have already caused new injuries. In addition, Hamas militants confront Israeli ground forces on the Salah Al Din road, which served for the evacuation of displaced people from the north to the south of the Strip.
Thursday was the seventh and final day of a truce negotiated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, through a agreement which included the release of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
(Also: Israel: Blinken tells Netanyahu it’s ‘imperative’ to protect civilians in Gaza.)
In total, 105 hostages were released, including 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners, and 240 were released from prison. palestinian prisonersall of them women and minors.
The truce, which began on November 24, marked a pause in the conflict that broke out on October 7 after an attack by the armed wing of Hamas that included the launching of thousands of rockets towards Israel and the infiltration of some 3,000 militiamen who massacred about 1,200 people and kidnapped another 240 in Israeli villages near the Gaza Strip.
Since then, and until the day the truce began, Israel’s forces maintained a relentless offensive by air, land and sea on the Palestinian enclave that has left more than 15,000 dead, thousands more buried under the rubble, and almost two million displaced people who are experiencing a serious humanitarian crisis due to the collapse of hospitals and the shortage of housing, drinking water, food, medicine and electricity.
(Also read: Hamas announces that 10 Israeli hostages will be released today, two of Russian nationality).
On Thursday, during an official visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Israeli leaders to refrain from resuming the military offensive in the Gaza Strip unless it establishes a concrete plan to protect Palestinian civilians.
The United States does not want a repetition in the south of the Palestinian enclave of “the massive loss of civilian life and displacement (of people), on the scale that occurred in the north,” Blinken said, explaining that Israel’s plan must include “the precise designation of areas in central and southern Gaza where civilians can be safe and out of the line of fire”, prevent massive internal displacement and damage to essential infrastructure such as hospitals, power generators, electricity providers water.
Qatar was working together with its regional and international partners to reach a permanent ceasefire, in the face of increasing international pressure to do so.
EFE
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