Israel resumes Gaza assault after rockets fired, heavy fighting reported
- Truce since last Friday had allowed hostage and prisoner exchanges, some humanitarian aid into Gaza
- Israel vowed to resume the fighting – with the goal of dismantling Hamas – once ceasefire ended
Israel resumed combat operations against Hamas in Gaza on Friday after accusing the Palestinian militant group of firing rockets at Israel and reneging on a deal to free all women held as hostages, violating their temporary truce agreement.
The seven-day pause, which began on November 24 and was extended twice, had allowed for the exchange of dozens of hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid into the shattered coastal strip.
In the hour before the truce was set to end at 7am (1pm Hong Kong time), Israel said it intercepted a rocket fired from Gaza. There was no claim of responsibility for the launch.
“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,” the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Hamas was also defiant.
“What Israel did not achieve during the 50 days before the truce, it will not achieve by continuing its aggression after the truce,” Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said on the group’s website.