The Israel-Hamas ceasefire broke down, with rockets hitting southern Israel, prompting IDF retaliation.
By David Rosenberg
The war between Israel and terrorists in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip resumed early Friday morning, after Israel accused Hamas of firing rockets and southern Israel and reneging on the hostage release deal.
Warning sirens sounded in southwestern Israel near the Gaza frontier Friday at 5:48 a.m., after terrorists operating in the coastal enclave launched rockets towards Israel.
The IDF later confirmed that one projectile was shot down.
Additional rocket attacks were reported at 6:58 a.m.
The Israeli military confirmed that Hamas had violated the ceasefire, which was supposed to continue until 7:00 a.m., with The Wall Street Journal reporting that the two sides had been in talks for a further 24-hour extension of the truce.
“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 residents of the Gaza frontier of the renewed fighting, limiting public gatherings and school operations.
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In response, IDF warplanes struck several Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip.
In addition to violating the ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also accused Hamas of reneging on the terms of the hostage release deal, part of the larger ceasefire agreement.
“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.”
The rocket attacks and Israeli reprisals come hours after eight Israeli captives were released in the seventh and final tranche of prisoner releases.