Israel: Hamas has decided to end the pause because it has not released all the kidnapped women
An Israeli government spokesman said on Friday that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas would receive the biggest blow.
The announcement comes after a cease-fire that halted fighting in the Gaza Strip ended and hostilities resumed.
“Unfortunately, Hamas has decided to end the pause because it has not released all the kidnapped women,” said government spokesman Eilon Levy. “By choosing to keep our women, Hamas will now receive the mother of all blows.”
The fighting was stopped on November 24. They were originally supposed to last four days, but were later extended for several more days with the help of Qatar and another mediator, Egypt. Fighting resumed on Friday morning.
During the week-long truce, Hamas and other Gaza militants released more than 100 hostages, most of them Israelis, in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
The ceasefire also brought more aid into the devastated Gaza Strip.
Levy said the week-long truce could be extended again and that the Israeli government had already approved a list of Palestinian prisoners to be released. According to him, it was intended that the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners would continue for at least two more days.
Hamas: We offered to exchange prisoners and elderly people
Hamas stated that the failure to agree on an extension of the truce was the fault of Israel, which had repeatedly rejected proposals for the release of the hostages.
“All night there were indirect negotiations on the extension of the truce, […] we offered to exchange prisoners and elderly people, as well as hand over the remains of captured Israelis killed by Zionist (Israeli) bombings,” Hamas said in a statement.
137 people are held hostage
Levy said Hamas is still holding 137 hostages, 10 of whom are 75 years old or older.
They are 117 men and 20 women, 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners: eight Thais, a Nepalese, a Tanzanian citizen and a person with French and Mexican citizenships.
The truce halted fighting that began on October 7, when Hamas militants broke through the militarized Gaza border into Israel and killed 1,200, according to Israeli authorities, in a surprise attack that shocked the world. and kidnapped about 240 people.
In response, the Jewish state vowed to destroy Hamas and launched an air and ground military campaign in the Gaza Strip that, according to Hamas, killed more than 15,000 people. people, mostly civilians.
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2024-08-24 10:23:13
