Israel resumed fighting in Gaza minutes after a temporary cease-fire deal ended, and accused Hamas of having violated the truce. Hamas blames Israel, saying it declined offers to free more hostages. Mediator Qatar said Friday that efforts are ongoing to renew an Israel-Hamas cease-fire and expressed “deep regret” over the resumption of Israeli bombardments. Over 100 hostages were freed during the seven-day truce, most of whom appear physically well but shaken. Israel says 115 adult men, 20 women and two children 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 continue 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.
Quick Read
- Ceasefire Ends: The temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended, with Israel resuming fighting in Gaza and accusing Hamas of violating the truce. Hamas blames Israel, saying it declined offers to free more hostages.
- Qatar’s Mediation Efforts: Qatar expressed regret over the resumption of Israeli bombardments and is continuing efforts to renew the ceasefire.
- Hostage Release During Truce: Over 100 hostages were freed during the seven-day truce. Israel reports that 115 adult men, 20 women, and two children are still held hostage.
- Palestinian Prisoners Released: Under the ceasefire, 240 Palestinians, mostly teenagers accused of minor offenses, were released from Israeli prisons.
- Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza: The fighting has led to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with more than three-quarters of the 2.3 million residents displaced and over 13,300 Palestinians killed.
- Israeli Casualties: Approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed, mostly during Hamas’ initial attack on Israel that triggered the war.
- Evacuation Map Published: Israel released a map dividing Gaza into numbered parcels, advising residents to familiarize themselves with their location for potential evacuation.
- Hamas Open to More Swaps: A senior Hamas official stated the group is open to more hostage swaps but rejected a demand to free female Israeli soldiers.
- UN Concern: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described the resumption of fighting as “catastrophic” and called for renewed efforts to ensure a ceasefire.
- Public Opinion in Israel: Some Israelis expressed support for the resumption of airstrikes, emphasizing the need for security.
- WHO Warning: The World Health Organization warned that Gaza’s healthcare system is overwhelmed and cannot afford more hospital losses.
- International Responses: Pakistan condemned the Israeli strikes, and Germany’s foreign minister called for a renewed ceasefire.
- Hamas’ Statement: Hamas accused Israel of rejecting offers for additional hostage releases and criticized the U.S. for its stance.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israel publishes a numbered evacuation map of Gaza Strip
Newslooks- JERUSALEM
The Israeli military released a map Friday carving up the Gaza Strip into hundreds of numbered parcels and asked residents to familiarize themselves with the number related to their location in case of an eventual evacuation.
The parcels were crudely drawn, with lines cutting across streets in some cases. The map, which Israel said would eventually be interactive, was published hours after Israel-Hamas fighting resumed, ending a weeklong truce that had been negotiated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
Before the truce, the main combat zone was in northern Gaza, the focus of Israeli ground forces. Now, the Israeli military’s attention appears to have shifted to southern Gaza, packed with some 2 million Palestinians, including hundreds of thousands who fled the north.
It was not clear how Palestinians would be updated on their designated parcel numbers and calls for evacuation, nor where residents are meant to evacuate to, since homes and shelters in the south have been overflowing with those who fled the north.
Earlier Friday, the military dropped leaflets over an area east of the city of Khan Younis, in which residents were urged to leave for their safety. The leaflet declared Khan Younis, in the southern half of Gaza, a “dangerous battle zone.”
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.
HAMAS OFFICIAL SAYS IT’S OPEN TO SWAPPING MORE HOSTAGES FOR PRISONERS
BEIRUT — A senior Hamas official said Friday that his group is open to swapping more Israeli hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, but rebuffed a demand to free female Israeli soldiers.
Osama Hamdan spoke to The Associated Press hours after negotiators failed Friday to extend a weeklong Israel-Hamas truce, which had been accompanied by daily hostages-for-prisoners swaps. Most of the hostages freed were women and children.
Israel said Friday that 137 hostages remain in captivity, including 115 men, 20 women and two children. Of this group, 126 are Israeli and 11 are foreign nationals. Ten of the remaining hostages are 75 and older, it said.
After the expiration of the truce Friday morning, Israel and Hamas resumed fighting amid mutual accusations that the other side did not attempt to negotiate an extension of the cease-fire in good faith.
Hamdan said several ideas for hostage releases were put forward by mediators, including Qatar, and that Hamas accepted three of them. He said the “Israeli side said no, no, no every time.”
Hamdan said Israeli officials put forward a list of 10 names of women they wanted released but that Hamas rejected them, saying they are female soldiers. Hamdan said the women were captured in military posts — apparently referring to the female spotters deployed near the border with Gaza.
The Hamas official said Israel’s military would not be able to release any of the hostages by force, adding that the only way to win their freedom is through negotiations. Israel has dismissed such claims, saying only military pressure will bring about the release of more hostages.
Qatar, a key mediator alongside Egypt, has said it will continue efforts to renew a cease-fire. Hamdan said Hamas is ready to respond to any serious offer.
ISRAEL SAYS HAMAS IS STILL HOLDING 137 HOSTAGES
JERUSALEM — Israel says that 137 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip after 110 returned home, most of them during a weeklong cease-fire when they were swapped for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Among those still in captivity after the end of the truce Friday are 115 men, 20 women and two children, government spokesperson Eylon Levy said. Ten of the hostages are 75 and older, he said. The majority, or 126, are Israeli and 11 are foreign nationals, including eight from Thailand.
Levy listed the youngest hostage, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, his 4-year-old brother Ariel and their mother Shiri as among the hostages. The military has said it is investigating a Hamas claim that the boys and their mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Hamas and other militant groups seized more than 240 hostages in their deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which more than 1,200 people were killed.
Levy said seven people are still missing from the initial attack.
UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF CALLS RESUMPTION OF FIGHTING ‘CATASTROPHIC’
The United Nations’ human rights chief has described the resumption of fighting in Gaza as “catastrophic” and pressed for all participants and countries with influence to redouble efforts to ensure a cease-fire.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement issued in Geneva on Friday that the situation in Gaza “is beyond crisis point” as more Palestinians risk being killed or “forcibly displaced to already severely overcrowded and unsanitary parts of Gaza.”
He said “recent comments by Israeli political and military leaders indicating that they are planning to expand and intensify the military offensive are very troubling.”
Türk reminded all parties to the conflict of “their obligation to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, throughout Gaza.”
Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on different parts of the Gaza Strip on Friday after a temporary truce expired.
SOME ISRAELIS EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR RESUMPTION OF FIGHTING
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israelis woke up to the news that the country’s war against Hamas had resumed after a weeklong truce, with some expressing support for the return of air strikes.
“It was obvious that we’ll be back at war. Hamas is not for peace,” said Dana Mizrahi, who was in a central Tel Aviv square on Friday to see an installation aimed at raising awareness about children kept hostage by Hamas. “They do not want to co-exist. They want for us to be eliminated. Sorry, it’s not going to happen. Ever,” she said.
Tel Aviv resident Hilla Ofman also backed what the authorities say is a war to root out Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas.
“Our government needs to take care of our safety. And they need to do what they need to do,” Ofman said. “We all want a cease-fire. We all want peace. We all want quiet. But not at the expense of our lives. And that’s what everybody should know.”
WHO SAYS IT’S EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT RESUMPTION OF VIOLENCE
The World Health Organization is warning that the Gaza Strip cannot afford to lose any more hospital capacity and says it’s very worried about disease outbreaks as fighting resumes.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative for the Palestinian territories, told a U.N. briefing on Friday that 18 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are “partially functional,” some of them barely functioning. He said total bed capacity has gone from 3,500 before the war to 1,500 and those hospitals that are operating are “extremely overwhelmed.”
“Gaza’s health system has been crippled by the ongoing hostilities, and I want to stress that it cannot afford to lose any more hospitals or hospital beds -– and we are extremely concerned about the resumption of violence,” Peeperkorn said.
He said WHO is also very concerned about disease outbreaks, with massive overcrowding in shelters and large numbers of respiratory infections and diarrhea cases, among other ailments.
PAKISTAN DENOUNCES RESUMPTION OF ISRAELI STRIKES ON GAZA
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan has denounced the resumption of Israeli strikes on Gaza, demanding a lasting cease-fire so that humanitarian aid can reach the people.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch made the comments at a weekly news conference on Friday.
She said the temporary pause that ended Friday had offered a crucial respite to the people of Gaza.
“Pakistan reiterates its call for a durable and sustained cease-fire to enable supply of extensive and robust humanitarian assistance; urgent medical aid to the injured; and shelter to those who have been displaced as a result of the indiscriminate and inhumane bombing campaign by Israeli occupation forces,” she said.
Baloch said Pakistan supports a comprehensive investigation into “attacks against medical facilities, schools, mosques, churches, residential buildings and water facilities and urges full accountability for the war crimes being perpetrated in occupied Palestine.”
QATAR LAMENTS ISRAELI BOMBING OF GAZA STRIP HOURS AFTER TRUCE EXPIRED
DOHA, Qatar — Mediator Qatar said Friday that efforts are ongoing to renew an Israel-Hamas truce and expressed “deep regret” over the resumption of Israeli bombardments after a weeklong cease-fire expired earlier in the day.
Israel and Hamas have traded blame, with each saying the other side violated the terms of the truce. Qatar, which has served as mediator along with Egypt, appeared to be singling out Israel’s role in the resumption of violence.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said that “the continued bombing of the Gaza Strip in the first hours after the end of the pause complicates mediation efforts and exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe” in the territory. It urged the international community to “move quickly to stop the violence.”
GERMANY’S FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR A RENEWED CEASE-FIRE
BERLIN — Germany’s foreign minister is pushing for a renewal of the collapsed cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
The weeklong truce expired on Friday and the war resumed with full force.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement that “in these minutes, we must do everything so that the humanitarian cease-fire is continued — for the remaining hostages who have been hoping for release in dark tunnels for weeks, and for the suffering people in Gaza, who urgently need more humanitarian aid.”
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.”
