The truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement expired Friday morning, and hostilities resumed between the belligerents.
Hamas and Israel mutually blame each other for the failure to extend the truce, recognizing in particular that they did not agree on the list of hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also accused Hamas of “violated the agreement” And “fired rockets” towards Israel.
More than 60 dead in Gaza
The resumption of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip has “more than 60 dead”announced in a press release the Ministry of Health of the territory controlled by the Palestinian Islamist movement, which also reported “dozens of injured” in “aerial bombardments on civilians”.
From the first explosions on Friday morning, thousands of residents of the small Palestinian territory returned to hospitals and schools that had become makeshift camps for the displaced, noted AFP journalists across Gaza, adding that residents were particularly in a hurry to donate blood.
Concerns of the international community
Qatar, the main mediator between Israel and Hamas, has urged the international community to act quickly to end the violence in the Gaza Strip.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, described “catastrophic” the resumption of hostilities, urging “all parties and all states having influence” on the belligerents “to redouble our efforts, immediately, to guarantee a ceasefire.”
“Inaction is, in essence, a green light for the killing of children”for his part said the spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), James Elder, to journalists in Geneva, via video link from Gaza.
France ruled on Friday “essential” to reinstate a truce, considering “regrettable” and of “bad news” the resumption of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Continuation of negotiations
“Negotiations on the truce in Gaza with mediators from Qatar and Egypt continue”a source informed of the discussions told AFP on condition of anonymity, after a night of intense negotiations.
The United States also says it “continues to work” towards a humanitarian truce in Gaza.
Israeli hostages still in Gaza
The seven days of truce allowed the release of 80 Israeli hostages, women and children, and 240 Palestinian prisoners, also women and minors.
Around twenty foreigners or dual nationals, mostly Thais working in Israel, were also released outside the framework of the agreement.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which entered its 56th day on Friday, was triggered by the bloody attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 on Israeli soil from the Gaza Strip, where it took power in 2007.
According to Israel, 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack, during which around 240 people were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip.
In retaliation, Israel, which vowed to“annihilate” Hamas relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip, where its army entered, before the start of a truce on November 24, which expired Friday morning.
More than 15,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including 6,150 under the age of 18, according to the Hamas government. Gaza Civil Defense also estimates that more than 7,000 people are missing.