Day 56 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 1

Palestinian deaths and injuries are reportedly soaring since the truce collapsed and the Israeli army resumed its offensive in the Gaza Strip Friday morning.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

Click here for our most recent updates.

Live updates (all times EDT):

Friday, Dec. 1, 2023

12:47 pm: Blinken says Israel taking steps to protect civilians

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel is taking steps to protect civilians as it resumes military operations in the Gaza Strip following the collapse of a week-long truce.

“We saw Israel take steps immediately today to start to get information to people about where safe areas are, how they can get out of harm’s way,” Blinken told reporters in Dubai.

“I saw the plans that Israel has in a multiplicity of ways to do everything possible to protect civilians, including making sure that they have the information they need and there are ways to accommodate them,” he added.

Israel published an interactive map on Friday advising civilians of safe areas in the Palestinian enclave. A day earlier, Blinken said Israel needed a “clear plan” to minimize casualties and avoid a mass displacement in southern Gaza.

12:00 pm: First Israeli-Qatari handshake at COP28

Israeli President Isaac Herzog met Friday with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the COP28 UN climate conference in Dubai, shaking hands for the first time. Jack Dutton reports from Dubai.

11:00 am: US draws red lines for Israel as truce collapses

With the Gaza cease-fire collapsing, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken drew red lines for Israel on the next steps, and three names are emerging as main contenders to revitalize the Palestinian Authority. Ben Caspit offers analysis from Tel Aviv.

9:10 am: Israeli military strikes 200 targets in Gaza

Starting at 7:00 a.m. local time, Israel carried out over 200 strikes in the Gaza Strip, both in the north and in the south, saying it destroyed booby-trapped sites, tunnel shafts, rocket-launching positions and command centers used by Hamas as the truce collapsed. Five IDF soldiers were injured by a mortar shell fired at kibbutz Nirim in the south of Israel as sirens warned several villages in the area of rocket fire from Gaza.

9:00 am: Four Israeli hostages confirmed dead

Three civilians taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7 were reported killed in Hamas captivity, the kibbutz announced on Friday. The bodies of Maya Goren, 56, Ronen Engel, 54, and Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, the oldest of the roughly 240 hostages taken by Hamas, are believed to still be in Gaza. The Israeli army also found in Gaza on Thursday the body of 27-year-old Ofir Tzarfati, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, bringing it back to Israel.

3:54 am: Qatar expresses regret over renewed Gaza fighting, says truce talks ongoing

Qatar expressed “deep regret” at the resumption of fighting in the Hamas-Israel war after the expiration of a temporary truce. In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry stressed, “The continued bombing of the Gaza Strip in the first hours after the end of the pause complicates mediation efforts and exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip.” It added that negotiations to restore calm are ongoing.

3:07 am: Hamas’ armed wing says it targeted southern Israeli towns

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel that it had launched rockets at Israeli towns and cities in response to the Israeli “crimes” against Gaza Friday morning. Rocket sirens blared in southern Israel Friday morning after a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel expired. Israel soon resumed its airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.

2:54 am: Death toll in renewed Gaza fighting rises to 32

The death toll in renewed Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip has risen to 32 Palestinians, according to medical reports cited by WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency. Israel resumed its campaign in Gaza following the end of a seven-day truce. Heavy airstrikes were reported across the enclave, in Khan Younis in the south, in the Bureij refugee camp in the center and in Gaza City in the north.

2:15 am: Dozens killed in latest Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip

At least 14 people have been killed since Israel resumed its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip earlier on Friday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli army has launched heavy airstrikes in the north, center and south of the enclave. In Rafah, two babies were killed when a house was struck, according to WAFA. The renewed fighting comes after a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel expired on Friday with no announcement of an extension.

12:00 am: Israel resumes Gaza fighting, ending week-long truce 

The Israeli military resumed fighting in the Gaza Strip after Hamas “violated the framework, did not meet its obligation to release all female hostages and fired rockets at Israel,” read a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It went on, “Amid the return to combat, we stress the government of Israel is committed to achieving the goals of the war — releasing our hostages, eliminating Hamas and ensuring that Gaza can never again threaten the people of Israel.” The Israeli army issued instructions across Israel ordering residents to avoid crowded events and to remain close to shelters.

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