Israel hits targets in Gaza as cease-fire with Hamas collapses

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel's warplanes began pounding targets in Gaza early Friday, shortly after it announced the collapse of a twice-renewed cease-fire deal that had allowed the release of more than 100 hostages seized by Hamas militants.

In its statement, Israel's military said Hamas "violated the operational pause...and fired toward Israeli territory," adding that Israel had "resumed combat" against Hamas, which launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing some 240 hostages, Israel says. The military said Israeli fighter jets had begun "striking Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip."

The news on Friday morning came hours after another hostages-for-prisoners exchange between the two sides, and following a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had pressed Israel to further extend the temporary truce.

Speaking on Thursday, Netanyahu said: "We swore, and I swore, to eliminate Hamas. Nothing will stop us."

The week-long pause in fighting had allowed dozens of captives held by Hamas to be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

It also allowed desperately needed humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, whose 2.2 million people had been on the receiving end of an intense Israeli air and ground campaign that has killed at least 13,300 people, according to Gaza's health ministry.

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