Israel accuses Hamas of violating truce deal – military operations resume

Israel’s military has resumed combat in Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating the seven-day truce.

A spokesperson for Israel Defence Forces said: “Hamas violated the operational pause and in addition fired toward Israeli territory.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office added that Hamas did not agree to release all women hostages, infringing on terms of the truce, and also launched rockets at Israel.

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“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,” it said in a statement.

Around 30 minutes after the ceasefire ended, the Israeli military said its fighter jets were striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Airstrikes hit southern Gaza, including the community of Abassan, east of the town of Khan Younis, the interior ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.

Another strike hit a home north west of Gaza City.

Images on social media showed large plumes of dark smoke rising over the densely built-up Jabalia refugee camp.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said multiple rockets had been launched from Gaza towards Israel.

It said sirens sounded in three Israeli communities near Gaza; Kibbutz Holit, Sufa, and Nir Yitzhak.

The ceasefire expired at 7am local time (5am UK) on Friday – with the IDF claiming it was “ready” and willing to continue military operations.

A total of 79 Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas over seven consecutive days, with hundreds of Palestinians freed from prisons in exchange.

About 140 hostages remain in Gaza.

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International mediators – including diplomats from Qatar, Egypt and the US – had been working to extend the temporary truce.

But reaching agreements on hostage releases appeared to be getting harder as most women and children had already been released.

On Thursday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken met with Mr Netanyahu and other top officials, where he expressed hope that the ceasefire could be extended.

Mr Blinken said that if Israel resumed the war, it must do so in “compliance with international humanitarian law” and must have “a clear plan in place” to protect civilians.

Israel has said its objective is to annihilate Hamas, which rules Gaza, in response to the rampage by the group on 7 October, when Israel claims 1,200 people were killed and 240 were taken hostage.

In Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, more than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed – around two-thirds of them women and children – according to the Hamas health ministry.