Israeli strikes on houses and buildings have killed at least 178 people throughout the Gaza Strip on the first hours of fighting after a weeklong truce collapsed Friday, according to the Health Ministry there. Israel said it struck more than 200 Hamas targets. Militants in Gaza resumed firing rockets into Israel, and fighting broke out between Israel and Hezbollah militants operating along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. Cease-fire mediator Qatar said efforts are ongoing to renew the truce, which saw Israel pause most military activity in Gaza and release 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for militants freeing over 100 hostages held in Gaza. Israel says 115 adult men, 20 women and two children are still held captive. Weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground campaign have left homeless more than three-quarters of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, causing a humanitarian crisis as they face widespread shortages of food, water and other supplies. No trucks carrying aid entered Gaza from Egypt on Friday, Palestinians authorities said. Up until the truce began, 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. The toll is likely much higher. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed, mostly during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Quick Read
- Gaza Strip Casualties: Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 178 people after a weeklong truce collapsed. The Health Ministry reported the casualties, and Israel confirmed striking over 200 Hamas targets.
- Renewed Rocket Fire and Border Fighting: Militants in Gaza resumed firing rockets into Israel, and fighting erupted between Israel and Hezbollah militants along the northern border with Lebanon.
- Cease-Fire Mediation Efforts: Qatar, serving as a cease-fire mediator, is working to renew the truce. The original agreement included Israel pausing most military activities in Gaza and releasing 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for over 100 hostages freed by militants.
- Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza: The Israeli offensive has left over three-quarters of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents homeless, causing shortages of essential supplies. No aid trucks entered Gaza from Egypt on the truce’s last day.
- Overall Casualties: Prior to the truce, over 13,300 Palestinians were killed, with about two-thirds being women and minors. The Israeli toll is around 1,200, mostly from the Hamas attack on October 7 that triggered the war.
- Protester Self-Immolation in the U.S.: A protester is in critical condition after setting themselves on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, with no apparent terrorism connection.
- Alleged Israeli Attack on Medical Convoy: Doctors Without Borders accused Israel of attacking its convoy in Gaza last month, killing two. Israel has not commented on the report.
- U.S. on Humanitarian Aid in Gaza: The U.S. believes Israel will allow some humanitarian assistance into Gaza, though at reduced levels compared to the cease-fire period.
- Qatar’s Reaction to Resumed Bombing: Qatar expressed regret over the renewed Israeli bombing and urged international action to stop the violence.
- German Foreign Minister’s Call for Peace: Germany’s foreign minister advocated for renewing the cease-fire, emphasizing the need for humanitarian aid in Gaza.
- Hamas Claims on Hostage Releases: Hamas stated that Israel rejected offers for additional hostage releases, including releasing Yarden Bibas to attend his family’s funeral. Hamas vows to continue its military actions.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli strikes kill over 175 people in Gaza after cease-fire ends, officials say
Newslooks- (AP)
AT LEAST 178 PEOPLE KILLED IN GAZA BY ISRAELI STRIKES SINCE FIGHTING RESUMED, HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS
Hours into Israel’s renewed bombardment, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said 178 people were killed and dozens wounded on Friday. Israel said it struck more than 200 Hamas targets.
Up until the truce began, more than 13,300 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s assault, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The toll is likely much higher, as officials have only sporadically updated the count since Nov. 11. The ministry says thousands more people are feared dead under the rubble.
A day earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israeli officials to do more to protect Palestinian civilians as they seek to destroy Hamas. It was not clear to what extent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will heed the appeals of the United States, Israel’s most important ally.
In response to the U.S. calls, the Israeli military released an online map dividing the Gaza Strip into hundreds of numbered, haphazardly drawn parcels. It asked residents to learn the number of their location in case of an eventual evacuation. The map did not designate safe areas to evacuate to, and it was not clear how easily Palestinians could access it.
PROTESTER SETS THEMSELF ON FIRE OUTSIDE ISRAELI CONSULATE IN UNITED STATES, IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION
ATLANTA- A protester in the United States is in critical condition after setting themself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, Georgia. A security guard who tried to intervene was also injured.
A Palestinian flag found at the scene was part of Friday’s protest, said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. He said investigators did not believe there was any connection to terrorism and none of the consular staff was ever in danger.
Authorities did not release the protester’s name, age or gender. The protester was in critical condition with burn injuries to the body. Fire officials say a security guard that tried to stop the person was burned on his wrist and leg.
ISRAELI TROOPS LIKELY ATTACKED MEDICAL CONVOY IN GAZA LAST MONTH, KILLING 2, AID GROUP SAYS
CAIRO — The medical charity Doctors Without Borders blamed Israel on Friday for what it called a deliberate ambush last month of a convoy of the group’s vehicles as they tried to evacuate Gaza City, killing two people.
In a report that cites several witnesses from the organization, also known by the acronym MSF, the group said “all elements point to the responsibility of the Israeli army for this attack.”
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a phone message late Friday seeking comment on the MSF report.
The report says the convoy came under Israeli fire while trying to evacuate Gaza City on Nov. 18. According to MSF staff, the five vehicles were turned back from an Israeli manned checkpoint after waiting hours to evacuate to the south. The group said it had informed both the Israeli military and Palestinian militants about the evacuation in advance.
According to the report, the convoy returned to the area near the MSF offices, close to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Israeli tanks and snipers took aim at the vehicles, which were identified by the MSF logo. Israeli forces fired at the convoy, fatally hitting one person in the head and the other in the abdomen. One was a volunteer with the group, and the other a relative of one of its staff members.
MSF also accused the Israeli military of destroying the vehicles days later with bulldozers, forcing the staff to rely on the vehicles of other civilians evacuating that area.
The group seeks an independent investigation and an explanation from Israeli authorities. The Associated Press could not independently verify MSF’s account of the attack.
US SAYS ISRAEL AGREES TO LET SMALL AMOUNT OF AID INTO GAZA
WASHINGTON — The U.S. says it believes Israel will begin allowing some humanitarian assistance to once again flow into Gaza, after blocking aid on Friday after a temporary cease-fire expired.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Israel blocked trucks from crossing into Gaza on Friday, but that at the request of the U.S. government, it would now allow some aid to enter.
Kirby said the resumption would be at a significantly reduced level from the hundreds of trucks per day that entered Gaza during the weeklong pause in fighting, saying it was “probably in terms of dozens of trucks versus hundreds of trucks.”
Kirby said the U.S. would continue to push to increase the assistance of aid into Gaza at least up to the level of goods that entered during the pause.
“And we want to see it restored at the level it had risen to during the pause,” he said, regardless of whether fighting continues.
Israel has a role in the inspection process that allows assistance into Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt.
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.”
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.”
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— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
