Israel resumes fight against Hamas in Gaza after ceasefire expires
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday announced that Israel had resumed its fight against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian terrorist group violated the "operational pause" and fired toward Israeli territory. The deadline to extend the ceasefire expired at 7:00am (local time) on Friday. Israel claimed that it intercepted a rocket fired from Gaza one hour before the ceasefire expired. The military stated that sirens warning of rockets sounded again in Israeli towns near Gaza minutes before the deadline.
Why does this story matter?
Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took 240 hostages during the surprise October 7 cross-border attack on Israel. In response, the Israeli military carried out artillery and air strikes in Gaza that have killed more than 15,000 Palestinians. Brokered by Egypt and Qatar, a ceasefire was recently agreed upon, resulting in the release of 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian inmates. Earlier, PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that "after this phase of returning our abductees is exhausted," Israel will return to the fight.
More hostages, Palestinian prisoners exchanged on Thursday
After back-to-back last-minute extensions, both sides marked the seventh day of the truce on Thursday by exchanging 30 Palestinian prisoners and eight hostages with the infusion of more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal, quoting Egyptian authorities, said Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the cease-fire for an eighth day. The agreement calls for the release of more Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Top Israeli official on possibilities of Israel-Hamas truce extension
Moreover, an advisor of Netanyahu, Mark Regev, told CNN that the Jewish nation was open to extending the ceasefire if the terrorist group agreed to further hostage releases. "We're ready for all possibilities. Without that (hostage releases), we're going back to the combat," Regev said. Previously, Israel set the daily release of 10 hostages as the minimum it would accept to pause its Gaza assault.
US bats for extension of Israel-Hamas truce
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also batted for an extension of the ceasefire on Thursday. "Clearly, we want to see this process continue to move forward. We want an eighth day and beyond," Bilkin told reporters in Tel Aviv. He also urged the Jewish nation to set up designated areas and places in southern and central Gaza where innocent Palestinians could be safe and out of the line of fire.
