As the war with Hamas restarts, Israel urges civilians to leave their homes
Israel’s war with Hamas has resumed in full force, with air strikes hitting targets in the Gaza Strip minutes after a week-long truce expired.
The renewed hostilities heightened concerns for Palestinians — many of whom have been displaced by the war — as well as about 140 hostages still in Gaza after more than 100 were freed during the truce.
Qatar, which has served as a mediator with Egypt, said negotiators were still trying to restart the ceasefire. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry 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 Israeli officials and urged them to do more to protect Palestinian civilians as they seek to destroy Hamas.
Mr Blinken arrived on Friday at the Cop28 climate talks in Dubai, where he was to meet Arab foreign ministers and other officials.
Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’s deadly October 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 crammed into the territory’s south with no exit, raising questions over how any Israeli offensive there could avoid heavy civilian casualties.
It was unclear to what extent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will heed appeals from the United States, Israel’s most important ally.
Mr Netanyahu’s office said on Friday 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”.
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