Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Israel is willing to renew the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip if the Hamas Movement releases the Israeli women it is holding, a senior Israeli official told Channel 13 on December 1.
“If they return our women, there will be a day’s pause. The equation is simple,” the unnamed official said.
Channel 12 cited an unnamed diplomatic official as saying that “there will be several days of combat. Hamas knows the conditions for a return to the pause.”
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official said that the movement “offered several proposals” to Israel to continue the ceasefire but was denied. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Khalil al-Hayya revealed that Israel demanded the release of “female recruits.”
A temporary ceasefire in Gaza that was brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar and lasted for seven days ended in the morning. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) resumed strikes on the Strip and clashes were reported in several directions.
The IDF said that five of its soldiers were wounded as a result of a mortar strike near the settlement of Nirim in the morning.
Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced that it had targeted a Merkava main battle tank with an explosive device and an armored personnel carrier with rocket-propelled grenade in northern Gaza. Meanwhile, the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said that it had shot down a Skylark reconnaissance over central Gaza.
In the afternoon, Israel intensified strikes on Gaza, especially on the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north and the cities of Rafah and Khan Yunus in the south. The Hamas-run health ministry in the Strip said that at least 109 people have been killed since the end of the ceasefire. Many others were reportedly wounded.
While the IDF appears to be ready to resume and develop ground operations in Gaza, the recent remarks by Israeli officials indicate that the ceasefire could be renewed.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC:
