The Gaza Ministry of Health announced on Friday that since the end of a week-long ceasefire, at least 109 Palestinians have lost their lives. Since Israel started bombing the enclave at high intensity again, hundreds more people have been hurt.
Since the ceasefire ended at 7 a.m. local time on Friday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have reported that they have targeted over 200 targets. They also noted that the assault has resumed on both the north and south of Gaza, including the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, via ground, air, and sea.
Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy told reporters on Friday that although Hamas had released 110 hostages during the ceasefire, it still held 137 prisoners. Levy also threatened to give the Palestinian militants “the mother of all thumpings” for “failing to release all the kidnapped women.” With 126, the vast majority are Israelis.
Approximately 240 Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli jails during the ceasefire were freed by Israel. NBC reported that 80% of the inmates deemed suitable for release had never been found guilty of a crime, and many of them had not even been prosecuted, having been detained under the contentious administrative detention policy.
Shortly after the truce ended, the IDF, which had resumed bombing, declared that Hamas had violated it by firing missiles. West Jerusalem has “persistently” refused additional offers of captive releases that could have extended the ceasefire, the terrorist group retorted.
The US, France, and other Israeli supporters failed in their attempts to prolong the ceasefire.
The two sides agreed to a four-day truce that will begin on November 24 after weeks of fruitless negotiations aimed at achieving a temporary stop of hostilities to permit a prisoner exchange and the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza. The ceasefire was mediated by Qatar. In exchange for 50 of the roughly 240 hostages that Hamas had captured, Israel first promised to release 150 Palestinian detainees. It then promised to prolong the ceasefire by one day for every 10 inmates who were freed.
Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that since Israel declared war on Hamas in response to the militants’ October 7 attack, more than 15,000 Palestinians have died and more than 30,000 have been injured. He also noted that the Gaza Health Ministry had stopped disclosing precise death tolls because Israeli bombing had destroyed its hospital system and made it too dangerous to remove bodies from the rubble. He said that about 80% of the 2.1 million residents of the enclave had been driven from their houses and charged Israel with launching “a full-fledged war against Palestine and its people.”
Israel reaffirmed on Friday that its objectives are “releasing our hostages, eliminating Hamas, and ensuring that Gaza can never again threaten the people of Israel.” Israel lost 1,200 citizens in the October 7 attack.
