Israel-Hamas War: List of Key Events, Day 56 | Israeli-Palestinian conflict News

EXPLANER

Israeli military says operations have resumed in Gaza after truce expires – here are the main updates.

Here is what you need to know about the situation on Friday December 1, 2023:

Truce, prisoner and release of captives

• The Israeli army claims to have resumed fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
• The resumption of hostilities took place on Friday around 7 a.m. local time (05:00 GMT), when the deadline for the end of the week-long truce had passed. Israeli airstrikes have been reported across Gaza.
• “Hamas violated the operational pause and further fired towards Israeli territory. The IDF has resumed combat against the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli military said.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had not agreed to release more prisoners, violating the terms of the truce, and that Israel remained committed to achieving its goals as fighting resumed.
• Thirty Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails following the seventh exchange of truce, following the release of eight Israeli captives in Gaza.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had facilitated the release and transfer of 19 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention centers to Ramallah.
• Thai captives freed after weeks of detention in Gaza expressed relief after returning to Bangkok, where they were welcomed home by delighted relatives.

Latest developments

• Tel Aviv Tribune journalists in the Gaza Strip say air raids have resumed and planes can be heard flying over the Gaza Strip.
• Israeli air raids and artillery fire were also reported in Gaza City.
• Witnesses in Gaza City say violent clashes are taking place between Palestinian fighting groups and Israeli troops.
• In Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, a Reuters witness said he could hear heavy shelling and see smoke rising to the east of the town. Images posted on social media showed large plumes of black smoke rising above the densely built Jabalia camp in Gaza.
• About 60 percent of homes in Gaza have been destroyed by Israeli bombardments, according to the government media office in the besieged enclave.

Diplomacy

• Israel and Hamas agreed Thursday to add a seventh day of humanitarian pause, while Egyptian and Qatari mediators worked to negotiate a further two-day extension, Egypt’s official news agency said.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Israel on his third visit to the Middle East since the war began, acknowledged that the flow of aid to Gaza was not enough.
• Blinken said he told Netanyahu that Israel must do more to protect civilians before any new military operations, and Netanyahu and his cabinet have supported that approach.
• During his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Blinken focused on efforts to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and condemned attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
• At COP28 in Dubai, Israeli President Isaac Herzog asked UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to use his “political clout” to help free all Israeli prisoners held in Gaza.