The temporary truce between Israel and Hamas - which facilitated the exchange of Israeli and foreign hostages and Palestinian detainees and prisoners over the span of a week - has ended.
Smoke rises above buildings during an Israeli strike on Rafah near the border with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip on December 1, 2023, after battles resumed between Israel and the Hamas movement. A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas expired on December 1, with the Israeli army saying combat operations had resumed, accusing Hamas of violating the operational pause.
Hostilities resumed upon the expiry of the truce at 07:00 local time (05:00 UTC) with neither side and Qatar, who mediated the truce, announcing a deal to extend it further.
In the hour before the truce was set to end, Israeli officials said it intercepted a rocket fired from Gaza, and Hamas-affiliated media reported sounds of explosions and gunfire in the strip, Reuters reported.
The pause in the fighting, which began on November 24 as a four-day truce and was extended twice to bring it to seven days, had allowed for the exchange of dozens of hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, as well as facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid via the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Fruits of the Truce
Qatari officials said on Friday (December 1) that efforts were ongoing to renew another truce, and expressed "deep regret" over the resumption in the fighting.
While over 100 hostages were freed from the captivity of Hamas and other affiliated groups, Israel said around 125 men remained in captivity.
Meanwhile, the 240 Palestinians released under the terms of the truce were mostly teenagers accused of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails during confrontations with Israeli forces.
Related Article: Hamas Members Suspect in Jerusalem Bus Stop Shooting Identified
