What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
NEW DELHI: The Israeli military has said that they will resume fighting in Gaza on Friday as the truce expires and both parties fail to agree to extend it.
In a statement on the microblogging site X, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said, “Hamas violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory.
The IDF has resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organisation in Gaza.”
View the tweet here:
Hamas violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory.
The IDF has resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/gVRpctD79R
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 1, 2023
This statement follows after the IDF said that they had intercepted a rocket that was fired from Gaza, violating the operation pause which had led to their decision to resume military actions against Hamas. A report by AFP suggested that Israeli warplanes have conducted a series of strikes and have opened artillery fire in the Gaza Strip. There have also been drones that have been heard over the southern part of the territory since the truce.
This resumption of fighting crushes any sort of hope for an extension to the seven-day truce, during which dozens of hostages were freed by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The truce had also allowed much-needed air to be able to reach the ravaged cities of Gaza.
On Thursday, US top diplomat Antony Blinken met with officials from both sides and called for the truce to be extended and warned that any resumption of the combat must protect the Palestinian civilians.
The truce had paused the ongoing fighting which began on October 7, when Hamas broke through the militarised border into Israel. The surprise attack killed 1,200 people who were mostly civilians, and Hamas kidnapped a further 240 Israelis, according to the Israeli authorities.
Following the surprise attack, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas and unleashed an air and ground military campaign in Gaza which according to the Hamas government has killed more than 15,000 people, who were mostly civilians.
During the seven-day truce which was brokered by Qatar, 80 Israeli hostages were freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. An additional 20 foreigners, most of them Thais residing in Israel, were also freed outside the scope of the agreement.
The statement of the IDF follows a video which was released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in which he says, “We swore….to eliminate Hamas, and nothing will stop us.” The video was released following the meeting with Blinken.
Blinken cautioned that if Israel were to resume military operations, it “must put in place humanitarian civilian protection plans that minimise further casualties of innocent Palestinians.”
Specifically, Israel must “clearly and precisely” designate areas “in southern and central Gaza, where they can be safe and out of the line of fire.
Israel has come under pressure from International bodies to extend the truce to allow for more time to get medical supplies, food, and fuel into Gaza where an estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced due to the ongoing violence.
