The fighting is on again, for now, with the fate of the hostages and civilian population in the balance:
The seven-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas ended early Friday. Each side blamed the other. Israel said Hamas had “violated the operational pause and, in addition, fired toward Israeli territory,” while a Hamas official said talks to extend the pause were “thwarted by the Israelis” who had “refused” an offer to release elderly male hostages and the bodies of three Israeli hostages. The Washington Post could not immediately verify either claim. Several airstrikes were reported across Gaza on Friday morning; a Post photographer witnessed a strike 200 meters from a hospital in Khan Younis in the south. Sirens blared in Israeli communities near the Gaza border, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the Israeli government knew about Hamas' battle plan for October 7 a year ago, but dismissed the reports.
(Photo: rockets being fired this morning from Gaza into Israel / Jack Guez, AFP, Getty Images)
