Israel resumes combat in Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating truce

JERUSALEM, Israel  

Israel’s military said it had resumed combat operations in the Gaza Strip minutes after a temporary truce with Hamas expired Friday, blaming the militant group for breaking the cease-fire.

The truce expired at 7 a.m (0500 GMT) Friday. The halt in fighting began a week ago, on Novvember 24. It initially lasted for four days, and then was extended for several days with the help of Qatar and fellow mediator Egypt.

During the week-long 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, but the fact that few such hostages remained in Gaza complicated reaching a deal for a further extension.

On the ceasefire, an adviser to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was open to continuing the ceasefire if Hamas committed to further hostage releases.

Israel had previously set the release of 10 hostages a day as the minimum it would accept to pause its assault.

“We’re ready for all possibilities.... Without that, we’re going back to the combat,” Netanyahu adviser Mark Regev said on CNN, Reuters reports.

Before the prior truce was due to expire early on Thursday, Hamas and its ally, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, put their fighters on alert for a resumption of hostilities.

Hamas, a militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years, had also been expected to set a higher price for the remaining hostages, especially Israeli soldiers. About 140 hostages remain in Gaza, with more than 100 having been freed as part of the truce.

Qatar and Egypt, which have played a key role as mediators had sought to prolong the truce by another two days.