Israeli fighter jets hit targets in the Gaza Strip minutes after a week-long truce expired yesterday, as the war with Hamas resumed in full force.
Black smoke billowed from the besieged territory, and Israel dropped leaflets over parts of southern Gaza urging people to leave their homes, suggesting it was preparing to widen its offensive.
In Israel, sirens warning of incoming rockets blared at several communal farms near Gaza, a sign that militants also restarted attacks, but there were no reports of hits. The renewed hostilities heightened concerns for Palestinians in the tiny coastal enclave, as well as about 140 hostages who remain there, after more than 100 were freed during the truce.
Photo: Reuters
Qatar, which has served as a mediator along with Egypt, said negotiators were still trying to reach an agreement on restarting the ceasefire. The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs singled out Israel’s role in the resumption of fighting and said it “complicates mediation efforts and exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe.”
A day earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli officials and urged them to do more to protect Palestinian civilians as they seek to destroy Hamas.
Blinken arrived yesterday at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, where he was to meet with Arab foreign ministers and other officials.
Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 raid has killed thousands of Palestinians, uprooted most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and led to a humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are now crammed into the territory’s south with no exit, raising questions over how any Israeli offensive there could avoid heavy civilian casualties.
It was not clear to what extent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would heed the appeals of the US, Israel’s most important ally. Netanyahu’s office yesterday said that Israel “is committed to achieving the goals of the war: Releasing the hostages, eliminating Hamas and ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to the residents of Israel.”
In related news, the New York Times on Thursday reported that Israeli officials had intelligence that Palestinian militant group Hamas was preparing a wide-ranging attack before its Oct. 7 assault, but dismissed the reports.
The newspaper said a document obtained by Israeli authorities “outlined, point by point, exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people.”
The document, which was reviewed by the newspaper, did not specify when the attack might happen, but provided a blueprint that Hamas appears to have followed: an initial rocket barrage, efforts to knock out surveillance, and waves of gunmen crossing into Israel by land and air.
The Times said the document, which included sensitive security information about Israeli military capacity and locations, circulated widely among the country’s military and intelligence leaders, though it was not clear if it was reviewed by senior politicians.
The warnings did not suggest that Hamas was likely to carry out the plan imminently, and the intelligence community continued to believe that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was not pursuing war with Israel, the Times said, likening the intelligence failure to those in the US before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
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