Efforts to renew the truce between Israel and Hamas continue, mediator Qatar said, as Israel resumed its bombing of Gaza, killing dozens of people.
Qatar, which led the negotiations that resulted in the week-long truce that ended Friday morning, said it would persist in seeking a new deal but warned that the resumption of hostilities was complicating matters.
Meanwhile, the world reacted with disappointment and horror at the breakdown of the truce and the rapid resumption of fighting, and called for urgent efforts to stem the violence and avoid further civilian casualties inside the ‘enclave.
A United Nations official said that “those in power have decided that the killing of children will begin again.”
Israel and Hamas blame each other for the breakdown of the truce.
“The Hamas-ISIS terrorist organization has violated the main lines. “He failed to fulfill his obligation to release all female hostages today and launched rockets at Israeli citizens,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“The Israeli government is committed to achieving the goals of the war: freeing the hostages, eliminating Hamas, and ensuring that Gaza never again poses a threat to residents of Israel,” he adds.
Hamas officials said Israel had worked to derail efforts to extend the truce.
Osama Hamdan, a senior official in the group that governs Gaza, told Tel Aviv Tribune: “Every day during the last seven days of the temporary ceasefire, Israel has acted in ways that undermine the entire process. We were and still are positive about all these efforts, but the Israelis reject them. »
Return to calm
Qatar, which, along with Egypt and the United States, mediates between Israel and Hamas, confirmed Friday that “negotiations between the two parties are continuing with the aim of returning to a state of pause.”
She declared herself determined “to continue the efforts that led to the humanitarian pause and will not hesitate to do whatever is necessary to return calm.”
But he adds that the resumption of fighting “complicates mediation efforts and exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe”.
Qatar also urged “the international community to act quickly to end the violence.”
Statement |Qatar expresses deep regret over the resumption of Israeli aggression against Gaza after the end of the humanitarian pause #MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/4C2ckADDtO
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) December 1, 2023
Last week, mediators worked through the night to iron out the final essential details of the truce that began on November 24 and lasted seven days before hostilities resumed at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Friday.
Before the truce began, weeks of Israeli bombing killed around 15,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including around 6,000 children. This campaign follows Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 people dead and around 240 prisoners returned to Gaza.
During the break, Hamas released 110 of these prisoners, including 80 Israelis, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Furthermore, the truce has allowed more desperately needed aid to enter Gaza, even though supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel remain well below the levels needed for the 2.3 million residents.
Carnage
In the first hours after the truce expired Friday morning, Israeli bombardments killed dozens of people in all areas of the Gaza Strip, including the south, designated as a safe zone.
Meanwhile, the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said it attacked the southern Israeli towns of Ashkelon, Sderot and Beersheba with rocket fire.
“Inaction, at its core, is an endorsement of the killing of children,” James Elder, a spokesman for the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF, said via video link from Gaza, adding “It is unwise to think that more attacks on the people of Gaza will lead to anything other than carnage.
“Has humanity abandoned the children of Gaza?!” » he asked in a post on X on Friday.
Ceasefire in effect #Gaza. Attacks near this hospital. Consistent bombardment. Has humanity abandoned the children of Gaza?! 😔 pic.twitter.com/dsyvQeBEWx
– James Elder (@1james_elder) December 1, 2023
The director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Robert Mardini, warned that renewed fighting would return Gaza’s population to a “nightmare situation”, and warned that it would slow or stop aid efforts.
“Deep regrets”
World leaders were quick to condemn the renewed fighting and reiterate their calls for both sides to return to the negotiating table.
“The resumption of hostilities only shows how important it is to have a genuine humanitarian ceasefire,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on X.
I deeply regret that military operations have resumed in Gaza.
I still hope that it will be possible to renew the pause that has been established.
The resumption of hostilities only shows how important it is to have a genuine humanitarian ceasefire.
– António Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 1, 2023
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said: “The resumption of hostilities in Gaza is catastrophic” and urged all influential parties “to redouble their efforts, immediately, to ensure a cease -fire – for humanitarian and human rights reasons.”
“The breakdown of the truce is very bad and regrettable news, because it provides no solution and complicates the resolution of all the questions that arise,” declared French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. She described the resumption of the truce as “essential”.
“We are disappointed that after a brief pause, Israel has resumed bombing the Palestinian people,” said a spokesperson for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
The German Foreign Ministry called on the international community to do everything in its power to ensure the truce continues.
It is necessary to ensure that Hamas does not pose a threat to Israel’s existence and that it is disarmed to end the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis, the Foreign Ministry said on X .
“Of course, this would also mean that Hamas would have to lay down its arms. Only in this way can a political horizon open for a two-state solution capable of ensuring the security of both Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.
Russia said it hoped for an extension of the pause in fighting.
“We would certainly have preferred to hear about a further extension of the humanitarian pause,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow would “continue its efforts” to secure the release of Russian citizens captured by Hamas.
Iran, for its part, attacked Israel and the United States.
“After killing more than 15,000 Palestinians, the Zionist vampires have unleashed a new round of massacres with the continued support of the US government,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a post on X .
He added that “the political and legal responsibility for the continuation of the aggression and the massacre” lies with Israel, the United States and “some governments which support this apartheid regime.”