Exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah broke out near the Lebanese border. An Israeli raid left three people dead in a village in southern Lebanon.
Three civilians killed in Israeli bombing
Three people were killed in an Israeli raid in southern Lebanon, including a member of Hezbollah, official Lebanese media announced, a few hours after the expiration of the truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Lebanese National News Agency (ANI) said “three civilians” were killed in the town of Hula “after their house was the target of an Israeli enemy bombardment”, identifying them as Nasifa Mazraani and her son Mohammed.
After the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement, in Israel on October 7, exchanges of fire between the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, and Israel were daily. at the border before a truce came into effect on November 24.
These exchanges were significantly less intense during the seven-day truce concluded between Israel and Hamas, under the aegis of Qatar, which was not extended Friday morning.
Israeli bombings on the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for the October 7 attack, resumed on Friday, and Hezbollah at the same time claimed attacks against Israel.
Hezbollah fighters targeted “a group of enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Jal al-Allam position”, according to a statement from the Iran-backed movement, referring to an Israeli site on the other side from the border, near Naqoura, in southern Lebanon.
The group also claimed three other attacks, including against troops and a barracks. ANI then indicated that “Israeli artillery fire” had targeted several areas of southern Lebanon, also reporting the overflight of Israeli surveillance planes. She also said that “the Israeli enemy forces opened fire” on goat herders.
Deadly strikes on Gaza after the end of the truce between Israel and Hamas
The Israeli army resumed its deadly shelling of the Gaza Strip on Friday, claiming to have hit “more than 200 terrorist targets”, after the end of the truce at dawn between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
The Health Ministry of Hamas in power in Gaza reported nearly 178 deaths in Israeli bombings on the Palestinian enclave.
From the first explosions, which occurred shortly after the expiration of a truce very early this morning, thousands of residents, some surprised in their sleep, returned to hospitals and schools transformed into makeshift camps for the displaced.
The Israeli army claimed to have hit areas “trapped by explosives, tunnels used for terrorist purposes, (rocket) launch pads and command centers” of Hamas, accused of having fired rockets in the direction of Israel.
The belligerents blame each other for the end of the truce which allowed the release of around a hundred hostages in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners as well as the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza where the humanitarian situation is deemed “catastrophic” by the UN.
Hamas said it had “proposed an exchange of prisoners and elderly people” among the hostages, as well as the handover to Israel of the bodies of Israeli hostages “who lost their lives in Israeli bombings” on Gaza.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Islamist movement of having “violated the truce agreement” and “firing rockets” towards Israel.
His government promised Hamas “the worst possible beating” and said it was determined to achieve its goals: “to free all the hostages, eliminate the Islamist movement and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to the people of Israel.” .
Bombings resume in the Gaza Strip
Early Friday, the Israeli military began sending messages to the phones of residents in neighborhoods of Gaza City, as well as villages along the border with Israel in the south, calling on them to “leave immediately” before ” harsh military attacks.
The Palestinian Authority, through Nabil Abou Roudeina, spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas, denounced “the continuation of ethnic cleansing and genocide” in Gaza.
In a sign of a truce that was becoming increasingly precarious, Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, claimed responsibility for an attack on Thursday in Jerusalem which cost the lives of four Israelis.
The war was sparked by an unprecedented attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, according to authorities.
In retaliation, Israel carried out devastating bombings against the Palestinian territory, which was under total siege, and launched a ground offensive on October 27. According to the Hamas government, more than 15,000 people, including at least 6,150 under the age of 18, have died in Israeli strikes since October 7.
After the release of a total of 110 hostages since the start of the conflict, including 105 during the truce, mostly women and minors, there remain 137 hostages in Gaza in the hands of Hamas and other affiliated groups, according to Israeli authorities.
The United States is trying to find a way out
Washington remains “focused” on the release of the hostages, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the day after a visit to Israel. The White House said that the United States, Israel’s main allies, “continues to work” towards a humanitarian truce.
According to a source informed of the negotiations, negotiations are continuing with the Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Qatar has urged the international community to act, saying the resumption of bombings “exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.
The United Nations very concerned by the situation in Gaza
For the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Robert Mardini, the resumption of war is plunging the Gaza Strip back into a “nightmare”. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced that he “deeply regrets” the resumption of hostilities.
The truce had offered a respite to the inhabitants of Gaza and allowed an acceleration of humanitarian aid, although described as very insufficient by the UN, now the aid convoys have dried up.
“No aid truck has entered since the resumption of Israeli bombings but preparations are underway for the evacuation of several wounded,” Waël Abou Omar, head of communications at the Rafah terminal (south) told AFP. ), crossing point between Gaza and Egypt. The needs are immense in the territory already subject to an Israeli blockade for more than 15 years and placed since October 9 in a state of total siege by Israel.
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 111,000 cases of acute respiratory infection and 36,000 cases of diarrhea among children under five years old among the displaced in Gaza.