GAZA/TEL AVIV: Israel’s military declared on Friday that it had started fighting back against Hamas in Gaza after charging the militant Palestinian organization with firing rockets into Israeli territory during a seven-day temporary cease-fire.
The seven-day cease-fire, which started on November 24 and was twice extended, had made it possible to swap hundreds of Palestinian inmates for dozens of hostages held in Gaza and to get humanitarian aid into the devastated coastal strip.
An hour prior to the ceasefire’s scheduled expiration at 0700 GMT, Israel declared that it had successfully intercepted a missile fired from Gaza.
Only minutes before the deadline, further sirens warning of rockets sounded in Israeli towns near Gaza, according to the Israeli military.
Following the end of the truce, Israeli artillery and aircraft strikes were reported by Palestinian media throughout the enclave.
Hamas did not immediately respond to requests for comment or to take credit for the missiles.
Following the exchange of the most recent batch of eight hostages and thirty Palestinian inmates on Thursday, Qatar and Egypt have been working hard to prolong the ceasefire.
Israel has earlier stated that it would only halt its ground attack and shelling in exchange for the release of ten captives per day.
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