Truce Expires: Israel Resumes Bombardment Of Gaza

More than 20 Palestinians have been killed since Israeli Army resumed attacks on Gaza after expiration of truce, Health Officials have said.

The seven-day pause, which began on November 24 and was extended twice, had allowed for the exchange of dozens of hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid into the shattered coastal strip.

“With the resumption of fighting we emphasise: The Israeli government is committed to achieving the goals of the war to free our hostages, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that Gaza will never pose a threat to the residents of Israel,” the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

“What Israel did not achieve during the fifty days before the truce, it will not achieve by continuing its aggression after the truce,” Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, said on the group’s web site.

Palestinian media and Gaza’s Interior Ministry reported Israeli air and artillery strikes across the enclave after the truce expired, including in Rafah, near the border with Egypt.

In Khan Younis, in the Southern Gaza Strip, a Reuters witness said he could hear heavy shelling and see smoke rising in the east of the town. People were fleeing the area to camps in the west of Khan Younis for cover, he added.

Al-Jazeera reported a number of people had been killed and injured by Israeli raids and shelling.

The Israel military confirmed its jets were striking Hamas targets in Gaza.

Images on social media showed large plumes of dark smoke rising over the densely built-up Jabalia camp in Gaza.

Following October 7 attack by Hamas, Israel retaliated with intense bombardment and a ground invasion of Gaza.

Palestinian Health Authorities deemed reliable by the United Nations say more than 15,000 Gazans have been confirmed killed.

REUTERS