Heavy fighting has broken out across the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli military resumed combat operations against Hamas after efforts to extend the truce failed.
The resumption of hostilities came at about 7am local time (05:00 GMT) on Friday, as the deadline for the end of the week-long pause passed.
Israeli air strikes have been reported across the enclave, including the south, which was previously said to be safe for fleeing civilians.
Gaza’s health ministry said that dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured during the initial resumption of Israeli strikes.
Reports of rockets and gunfire had emerged in the hour before the temporary truce expired. Israel said that Hamas had violated the agreement.
Efforts to extend the pause had been ongoing. There was no comment from mediator Qatar, but there are reports that talks between Qatari and Egyptian mediators are continuing.
“Hamas violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory,” the Israeli army said in a post on X on Friday. “The IDF has resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Hamas did not agree to release further hostages, infringing the terms of the truce. Hamas has yet to respond.
“With the resumption of fighting we emphasise: The Israeli government is committed to achieving the goals of the war – to free our hostages, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that Gaza will never pose a threat to the residents of Israel,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Al Jazeera
