Hamas on Friday broke the ceasefire with a barrage of rocket attacks on Israeli cities.
Video showed a stream of rockets lighting the early morning sky as Israelis were roused from their beds by the blare of warning sirens. In addition, Israel announced that Hamas had reneged on key elements of the hostage release deal.
“Hamas has so far failed to produce a list of hostages that would enable a further extension of the pause,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson notes that the truce allowed for the release of over 100 hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza. Far fewer than that have been released and Israel said they’ve discovered more dead hostages, the latest being Ofir Tzarfati.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Osama Hamden, a senior official in the Hamas terrorist organization’s Political Bureau, stated Hamas will not give up its goal of the destruction of the Jewish people.
In an interview with Lebanese television, the senior terrorist stated, “I can promise a war of liberation is coming, not just another October 7.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the two sides had been in talks to extend the ceasefire for an additional 24-hours to allow for more hostages to be released.
“Hamas violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory,” an IDF spokesperson said.
“The IDF has resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.”
The IDF’s Home Front Command warned citizens in southern Israel of renewed fighting and limited public gatherings including in schools.
Israel responded to the attacks with renewed targeting of Hamas operatives and leaders within Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had been under pressure from the Biden adminsitration to continue the ceasefire, was quick to condemn Hamas for breaking it.
“The Hamas-ISIS terrorist organization has violated the outline. It has not met its obligation to release all of the women hostages today and has launched rockets at Israeli citizens.”
“Upon the resumption of fighting, we emphasize: The Government of Israel is committed to achieving the goals of the war: Releasing the hostages, eliminating Hamas and ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to the residents of Israel.”
–Metro Voice and wire services
