by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch
A truce ended. War resumed. Negotiations continue.
Israel’s military said it “resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” restarting fighting after a relatively peaceful interim that lasted roughly a week. Israel said Hamas had “violated the operational pause and, in addition, fired toward Israeli territory.”
ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES, saying the country’s aim is to “destroy” Hamas, today dropped leaflets in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, calling it a “fighting zone” and telling residents to “evacuate immediately” (CNN). Officials in Qatar called on the international community to “move quickly to stop the violence,” and said negotiations continued.
The New York Times: Israel knew of Hamas’s attack plan more than a year ago.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with leaders Thursday in Israel and urged them to take concrete steps to reduce civilian deaths when restarting attacks against Hamas. He said the U.S. does not oppose the resumption of war, despite international pressure for a permanent cease-fire to spare Palestinian civilians. Blinken also focused on protecting critical infrastructure such as hospitals and power plants in Gaza and protecting the flow of humanitarian aid during Israel’s next military phase, The New York Times reported.
THE HOSTAGES: Late on Thursday local time, the Israeli military said six more hostages had been turned over to the Red Cross and were on their way to Israel. During the temporary truce, Hamas released 105 captives from Gaza, officials said. Israel freed 240 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
In Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, Blinken focused on “measures to improve the security and freedom of Palestinians in the West Bank” (The Times of Israel). He said the U.S. sought to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and condemned Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, which has increased since October. Blinken told Abbas the U.S. “would continue to insist on full accountability for those responsible,” and remains committed to nudging next-steps toward a Palestinian state.