Israel resumes Gaza combat operations as truce collapses

Israeli fighter jets hit Gaza minutes after a weeklong truce expired Friday, resuming the nation’s war with Hamas.

Israel dropped leaflets over parts of southern Gaza urging residents to leave their homes, which suggests it is preparing to widen its offensive, which has previously been focused in the north of the strip, The Associated Press reported.

The strikes come after mediators scrambled to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Israel and Hamas to continue exchanging hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israel had said it would refrain from resuming its attack on Gaza if Hamas kept releasing hostages taken by the Palestinian militant group in its Oct. 7 surprise attack.

Qatar and Egypt, who have aided in the truce negotiations, were seeking to prolong the temporary cease-fire by another two days, but Israel insisted it would resume strikes if Hamas didn’t offer a satisfactory list of captives.

According to the AP, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war resumed because Hamas had violated the terms of the truce and did not meet “its obligation to release all of the women hostages today and has launched rockets at Israeli citizens.”

Just before the strikes resumed, more people were swapped during the truce.

More than 100 hostages taken by Hamas were freed during the truce, meaning about 140 remain in Gaza. In return for the 100 hostages freed by Hamas, Israel released 240 Palestinians from captivity.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said officials were trying to reach an agreement to restart the cease-fire, the AP noted. Qatar singled out Israel for resuming fighting, which it said “complicated medication efforts and exacerbates the human catastrophe.”

Hundreds of thousands of people fled northern Gaza earlier in the war. They headed south toward Khan Younis, a town where Israel dropped evacuation leaflets Friday.

One airstrike Friday morning destroyed a large building in Khan Younis and residents were seen searching through rubble for survivors, the AP reported.

The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza said 32 people had been killed and dozens were wounded hours after the new Israeli strikes began.

In its early October attack, Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis, officials said. Since Israel began its counteroffensive, more than 13,300 Palestinians, roughly two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed, Gaza’s health ministry said.

The toll is likely much higher, the ministry said, as thousands more are feared dead under the rubble.