The Israeli military said Friday morning that it has resumed combat in Gaza after it accused Hamas of violating the tenets of the temporary cease-fire agreement in the war which broke out Oct. 7 when Hamas militants launched a violent terror attack on southern Israel.
Israel's allegation came as the cease-fire expired at 7 a.m. local time with neither side announcing that it was being extended.
About an hour before the deadline, Israel Defense Forces reported that its missile defense system had detected and intercepted a rocket fired toward Israeli territory from Gaza. Hamas has not yet responded to Israel's claim.
"Hamas violated the operational pause and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory," the IDF said in a social media post. "The IDF has resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip."
Eight Israeli hostages were freed from Gaza on Thursday, the seventh day of the cease-fire, while in exchange 30 Palestinians jailed in Israeli were also released.
The cease-fire between the two sides began Nov. 24 and had been renewed twice. More than 100 Hamas-held hostages have been released during that time, along with some 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The fragile deal had remained in place despite several incidents of violence, including a shooting early Thursday morning in which two gunmen opened fire with an M16 rifle and a handgun on a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem on Thursday morning, killing at least three Israelis and wounded six others. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed two of those wounded were U.S. citizens. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
"The terrorists just came out of the cars and start shooting right on the faces of normal people," paramedic Israel Polak, who responded to the scene, told CBS News.
Hamas claimed the shooting was in response to the killing of children in the Palestinian refugee Camp in Jenin. Two boys, ages 8 and 15, were fatally shot at the camp Wednesday.
Blinken, making his third visit Thursday to Israel since the war began on Oct. 7, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and cautioned Israel to protect Gaza civilians.
The Israeli hostages released Thursday ranged in age from 17 to 41 and included several dual-nationals.
Among them were siblings Aisha and Bilal Ziyadne, age 17 and 18, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Holit, where they went to work with their father, Yousef, and their older brother, Hamza, said a spokesperson for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Their father and older brother are still being held captive by Hamas, the spokesperson said.
21-year-old Mia Schem, a French-Israeli woman who had appeared in a propaganda video released by Hamas in October, has been released. It was reported that her right arm had been injured and was operated on by a Palestinian veterinarian.
Mia's mother, Karen Schem, expressed her concern for her daughter's physical pain.
Hamas claimed that three Israeli hostages, a mother and her two children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. The victims were identified as 4-year-old Ariel Bibas, his 10-month-old brother Kfir Bibas, and their mother, Shiri.
The Israeli military reported that more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed by Hamas militants during their invasion of southern Israel on October 7.
The Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, stated that nearly 15,000 people in Gaza have been killed by Israel's retaliatory ground incursion and airstrikes.
