Israel resumes combat, accuses Hamas of violating ceasefire

Israel's military said on Friday (December 1) that it resumed combat operations in the Gaza Strip minutes after a temporary truce with Hamas ended, blaming the militant group for breaking the week-long truce.

Hours before the expiry of the ceasefire at 7 am, Israel said it intercepted a rocket fired from Gaza. Hamas-affiliated media reported sounds of explosions and gunfire in the northern parts of Gaza. Reports of rockets and gunfire emerged in the hour before the temporary truce worked out by Qatar and Egypt expired. Israel accused the Hamas of breaching the agreement.

“Hamas violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory,” the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said. “The IDF has resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organisation in Gaza.”

Al Jazeera reported heavy gunfire and shelling in the north and east of Gaza. Israeli air raids have also resumed.

“The Gaza Strip is under heavy artillery and even aerial bombardment by the (Israelis),” Al Jazeera reported from Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Heavy fighting

Witnesses in Gaza City said heavy clashes took place between Palestinian groups and Israeli troops. There were also reports of air raids and artillery fire in the city. In central Gaza, Israeli tanks shelled near the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps.

The halt in fighting began on November 24, initially for four days. It was then extended for several days with the help of Qatar and fellow mediator Egypt.

During the truce, Hamas and other militants in Gaza released more than 100 hostages, most of them Israelis, in return for 240 Palestinians freed from prisons in Israel. Virtually all of those freed were women and children. Hamas was reportedly trying to extract a higher price from Israel for the remaining hostages, especially Israeli soldiers. About 140 hostages remain in Gaza.

On Thursday (November 30), Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CNN: "We're ready for all possibilities... Without that, we're going back to the combat.”

Hamas’ slaughter

Israel launched a punishing war against Gaza after hundreds of its fighters intruded into Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages.

The BBC, however, quoted an unnamed Palestinian official close to the talks as saying that mediators were continuing efforts to reach a pact between Israel and Hamas even as the fighting continues.

(With agency inputs)