Israel-Hamas war Dec 1 updates: IDF hits 200 targets, Hamas claims more than 100 killed in Gaza

Hamas fired a barrage of long-range rockets for the second time as central Israel was surrounded by incoming rocket sirens.

The alerts were activated in Gan Yavne, Ness Ziona, Rishon Lezion, Yavne, Rehovot, Ashdod, as well as smaller towns in the area.

An Israeli civilian was apparently mistook by an Israeli soldier as a Palestinian attacker and shot at Jerusalem bus stop for a third assailant, said Israeli police. The civilian, who was thought to be the third attacker, suffered injuries from the shot.

The bombardment carried out by Israeli army killed two civilians in southern Lebanon on Friday, said official media, hours after the truce between Hamas and Israel expired.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group also said that they ended their first attacks on Israel since end of the truce.

Lebanon's official National News Agency stated that "two civilians" were killed in the town of Hula "after their house was targeted by enemy bombing". The civiliams were identified as Nasifa Mazraani and her son Mohammed.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the truce ended because of Hamas.

“It’s important to understand why the pause came to an end. It came to an end because of Hamas. Hamas reneged on commitments it had made,” he said.

“In fact, even before the pause came to an end, it committed an atrocious terrorist attack in Jerusalem, killing three people and wounding others, including Americans,” Blinken continues. “It began firing rockets before the pause ended, and as I said it reneged on the commitments it made in terms of releasing certain hostages,” Blinken added.

Hamas' senior spokesperson held both Israel and the United States responsible for ending the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

"It was clear yesterday that the Israeli side wants to go back to fighting as several ideas were put forward by mediators and we accepted three of them, and despite that the Israeli side said 'no, no, no' every time," said Osama Hamdan, while speaking from Beirut.

The IDF said that the terror cell, located in southern Lebanon, was hit by them as Hezbollah resumed its attacks on Israel.

Many rockets were also fired by Lebanon, targeting the army posts along the border near Maragaliot and Rosh Hanikra, as well as the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, said the IDF.

It confirmed that the Iron Dome intercepted two rockets fired at Kiryat Shmon. The IDF said that they are responding with artillery shelling.

Hamas appealed the “friendly state” of the United Arab Emirates, which is hosting UN Climate Change Conference COP28, to take back the invitation it has sent to Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Hamas, in a statement, said that “irrespective of the conference’s nature,” the international community and the UN should not allow “criminal” Herzog a platform, adding that there is a “political and moral imperative to boycott him” because of of his involvement in the war against Hamas.

The United States will be pressing for extension of a truce in Gaza, said the White House, as intense fighting started again in the Israel-Hamas war.

"We continue to work with Israel, Egypt, and Qatar on efforts to extend the humanitarian pause in Gaza," said a White House National Security Council spokesperson.

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said that till now 109 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory after a truce between Hamas and Israel ended andfighting resumed.

In a statement, spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said that the military had also tallied "hundreds of wounded in the Israeli aggression".

The Israeli military said that hit "over 200 terror targets" after the truce came to an end and the fighting between Hamas and IDF started in the Gaza Strip.

"Over the last few hours, ground, air and naval forces struck terror targets in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, including in Khan Yunis and Rafah," the military said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, taking to X, said that the Israeli forces are charging forward.

“Our forces are charging forward. We continue to fight with all our strength until we achieve all our goals: the return of all our abductees, the elimination of Hamas, and the promise that Gaza will never be a threat to Israel again,” he wrote. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that there are still 137 hostages in Gaza. “Of those abductees, 117 are men and 20 are women,” read the statement.

Among the hostages are 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners (eight Thai nationals, one Nepali citizen, one from Tanzania and one dual France-Mexico national).

Two children, who are below the age of 18, and 10 people, who are above the age of 75, are also among Israeli count. The Israeli soldiers have located the remains of two abductees who were killed by Hamas. The Prime Minister's Office said seven people are currently missing.

“A total of 110 people have been released from Hamas captivity so far,” said the statement said.

The family members of 21-year-old Mia Schem, who was abducted by Hamas operatives while she was attending a dance party with her friends, said that the militants got her operated by a vet....Read More
 

The health ministry, which is run by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said that more than 60 people were killed since the truce between Hamas and Israel ended and the fighting in the enclave resumed.

The ministry has tallied "dozens of wounded in air strikes on civilians", said the ministry, in a statement.
 

An Israeli official, while speaking to Reuters, said that Israel can secure the release of hostages kept in captive by Hamas in Gaza Strip either by talks or "other means".

Speaking in Dubai, Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General Oded Joseph said that Israel is determined to secure the release of all hostages as well as destroy Hamas.

"Naturally, we would reach a point where again we would want to find a way to make sure all our kidnapped are released. Part of it might of be out of, sort of, discussions, but part of it could be by other means," Joseph said.

According to local media reports, Aryeh Zalmanovitch, who is a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz in his 80s, died after she was kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza on October 7.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said that he deeply regrets the resumption of fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas and hopes that they can re-establish a truce.

“I deeply regret that military operations have started again in Gaza. I still hope that it will be possible to renew the pause that was established. The return to hostilities only shows how important it is to have a true humanitarian ceasefire,” said the United Nations secretary-general, on X.

Iran said that Israel and the United States are responsible for a resumption of fighting between IDF and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“After killing more than 15,000 Palestinians, the Zionist criminals have started a new round of killing under the continued support of the American government,” said Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani, in a post on X.

Kanani said that “the political and legal responsibility for the continuation of the aggression and massacre” rests with Israel, the US and “a few governments that support this apartheid regime.”

As per state media, Iranian delegates walked out of UN climate talks, which is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to protest against the participation of Israeli representatives.

The Iranian authorities considers the presence of Israel at COP28 “as contrary to the goals and guidelines of the conference and, in protest, it left the conference venue,” said Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian, who has been leading the Iranian delegation, as quoted by the official news agency IRNA.
 

The Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, said that the negotiations are continuing between Israel and Hamas despite the resumption of hostilities.

“Negotiations between the two sides are continuing with the aim of returning to a pause,” the statement read. The ministry stated that “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 appealed the international community to “move quickly to stop the violence.

Air raid sirens were sounded in Yad Mordechai and Netiv Hatara settlements in southern Israel, according to a statement by Israel's Home Front Command.

As we reported earlier, Palestinian fighters said they had launched a volley of rockets towards Israel.

"Thousands of people" were scrambling to take shelter at southern Gaza's Nasser Hospital as Israel resumed its combat operations in the Hamas-controlled Strip following the end of the truce after seven days.

Aljazeera quoted locals as saying that people were staying put wherever they were as it was too dangerous to travel anywhere.

(With inputs from agencies)

The US Treasury's top terrorism financing official said Thursday he had shared with Turkish government officials his deep concerns about Palestinian militant group Hamas raising funds in Turkey and potentially breaking local laws.
 

The Hamas health ministry in Gaza said 29 people had been killed Friday in the initial hours after a truce between Israel and Hamas militants expired and hostilities resumed.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP the dead included 10 people killed in al-Maghazi in central Gaza, nine in Rafah in the south, and five in Gaza City in the north.

(With inputs from agencies)

The IDF has published a map splitting the Gaza Strip into hundreds of small zones, which it will use to notify Palestinian civilians of active combat zones.

It asks Palestinians to pay attention to their area’s number, and follow the IDF’s future updates.

Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza claimed Friday that Israeli raids had already killed 14 people in the Strip within 2 hours after combat resumed.

Meanwhile, residents in Gaza say Israel has dropped leaflets over parts of southern Gaza, urging people to leave homes east of the town of Khan Younis. The leaflets also warned that Khan Younis was now a “dangerous battle zone.”

(With inputs from agencies)

BBC quoted Palestinian sources as claiming that the talks to extend truce between the two warring sides were going on even as Israel started pounding Gaza Friday morning. 

At least six Palestinians were killed Friday morning in an Israeli air raid on Rafah city in the south of Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP, updating an initial toll of three.

(With inputs from agencies)

Hamas-run health ministry says 3 killed in Israeli air raids in Rafah. 

(WION was unable to verify this report independently)

Gaza City was witnessing heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hamas terrorists Friday morning.

Witnesses in northern Gaza said Israeli tanks are also shelling near Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamas violated the truce agreement and in addition fired inside Israeli territories.

The IDF renewed fire against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the IDF wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Truce between Israel and Hamas expired at the scheduled time, 7: AM (local time). 

More information to be added soon.

Rocket siren sound were heard in Israel's south as uncertainty surrounds possible Gaza truce extension. 

While reports claim such extension has already been agreed upon, an official confirmation is yet to come. 

A federal grand jury has indicted a Las Vegas man arrested last month for allegedly making antisemitic threats against US Senator Jacky Rosen and her family, along with the family of another US senator, according to court records.

Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada, is Jewish and has maintained a vocal pro-Israel stance, including support for the US support to Israel amid ongoing war.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the truce for an eighth day, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing Egyptian officials.

An official announcement of a truce extension from the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, is yet to come. 

Doha and Cairo have led the negotiations for truce and are aiming for a sustained ceasefire while citing their shared goal towards cessation of unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza Strip.  

If Israel resumes its assault on Gaza after the end of currently enforced truce, it may push many of 1 million refugees to try to push over the border into Egypt, warned the head of UN's Palestine relief agency UNRWA. 

"We already have a staggering human tragedy," Philippe Lazzarini said, while urging Israel to think over the consequences of a resumed offensive in Gaza's South.

Israel now effectively controls northern Gaza, where it claimed early on during the war, Hamas operatives who committed October 7 attack on southern Israel were housed. About a million people were pushed into Gaza's south upon Israel's bombardment warnings, leading to an even more staggering humanitarian crisis in the blockaded Palestinian enclave run by Hamas. 

Israel knew of Hamas' attack plan, which the Palestinian group committed on October 7, more than a year ago, according to a report in the New York Times.

The report says that Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational and ignoring specific warnings.

Since the truce deal came into force, it has resulted in the freeing of 110 hostages, including 80 Israelis. However, on Thursday, Hamas only freed eight Israeli hostages when the truce agreement stipulates that a minimum of 10 Israeli hostages have to be released. 

As many as 23 minors and seven women were released by the Israeli authorities late into Thursday night as part of the hostage exchange. Earlier in the day, Hamas freed eight Israeli hostages. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Israel to create safe zones for Palestinian civilians in Gaza once the fighting resumes. 

Blinken said Israel "must put in place humanitarian civilian protection plans that minimise further casualties of innocent Palestinians".

The Israeli prime minister's office late Thursday (Nov 30) informed that six Israeli hostages released in the Gaza Strip had returned to the country.  

The release of the six, four adults, a 17-old girl and an 18-year-old man -- who mediator Qatar said included Uruguayan, Mexican and Russian dual nationals, came after two women, including a French-Israeli dual national, were released earlier in the day.

A total of eight civilians were freed from Hamas on Thursday, as of the last update. 

According to news agency AFP, citing sources, Hamas is 'willing to extend' the truce. 

"The mediators are currently making strong, intense and continuous efforts for an additional day in the truce and then working to extend it again for other days," the source was quoted as saying.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for an extension of the truce between Israel and Hamas as the deadline approaches. 

"Clearly, we want to see this process continue to move forward," he told reporters in Tel Aviv following a visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank. "We want an eighth day and beyond."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Jersulaem had sworn to 'destroy Hamas' even though a temporary ceasefire was in place. 

Read more...

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagar said the Israeli military was prepared to resume fighting Hamas if the ceasefire was not extended. 

“The IDF is ready to resume the fighting. We are prepared to attack at any hour, tonight as well,” Hagari says.

He added that IDF was however goin to honour the current deal with Hamas, under which hostages from both sides are being released. 

The two Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Thursday (Nov 30) so far, were identified as Mia Schem, 21, and Amit Soussana, 40.

"A short while ago, Red Cross representatives transferred two Israeli released hostages to IDF special forces and ISA forces adjacent to the security fence with the Gaza Strip. Afterwards, they will make their way to the Hatzerim Base," read the IDF statement.