What we know
- Israel's military said Friday morning local time that it has resumed fighting in Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating the terms and firing toward Israeli territory.
- Eight hostages were released Thursday following a last-minute agreement to extend the truce between Israel and Hamas. In exchange, 30 imprisoned Palestinians were released, officials said.
- Three people were killed in a shooting attack at a bus stop in Jerusalem during rush hour Thursday morning, Israeli authorities said, as fears of spiraling violence beyond the Gaza Strip grew. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in the region in a renewed diplomatic push, meeting with Israeli leaders and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian health officials said two boys, one of them 8 years old, were killed in an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the area yesterday.
- More than 1.7 million people have been displaced in Gaza, where health officials say the death toll has surpassed 14,500 after weeks of Israeli attacks. The Israel Defense Forces estimates 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, with around 160 people still held captive in Gaza.
- NBC News’ Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Ali Arouzi, Erin McLaughlin and David Noriega are reporting from the region.
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Israeli PM office says country committed to freeing hostages, eliminating Hamas
The office of Israel’s prime minister Friday accused Hamas of violating the terms of a cease-fire by firing at Israeli territory and said it was still committed to what it called its goals of the war. It said Hamas “has violated the outline.”
“It has not met its obligation to release all of the women hostages today and has launched rockets at Israeli citizens,” the statement said.
“Upon the resumption of fighting, we emphasize: The Government of Israel is committed to achieving the goals of the war: Releasing the hostages, eliminating Hamas and ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to the residents of Israel,” it said.
IDF says it is launching airstrikes in Gaza
Israel’s military said Friday morning that its jets were launching strikes in Gaza, shortly after it announced that combat operations would resume there following a weeklong pause.
The Israel Defense Forces at around 7 a.m. local time (midnight ET) accused Hamas of firing at Israeli territory.
The IDF said that a “number of launches” were identified that “were not intercepted according to protocol.” It did not mention any casualties from the launches.
“IDF fighter jets are currently striking Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip,” it said.
Airstrikes heard in Gaza after resumption of combat is announced
NBC News’ team in Gaza reports airstrikes across north and south Gaza after Israel’s military announced it was resuming combat operations there following a pause in fighting.
The team also reported artillery shelling along the border east of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas-affiliated media said on Telegram that there were clashes in northern Gaza.
IDF says it has resumed fighting in Gaza
Israel’s military said that it “has resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip” after a pause in fighting of about a week.
"Hamas violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory," the Israel Defense Forces said.
The pause took effect by agreement on Nov. 24. During that time 105 hostages have been released from Gaza, officials said. Israel has released 240 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Israel’s president visits UAE, asks for help to free hostages
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israeli President Isaac Herzog today asked the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to use his “political weight” to help free all of the Israeli hostages the Palestinian militant group Hamas holds in Gaza.
Herzog made the request at a meeting with Sheikh Mohamed in Dubai, the Israeli president’s media office said in a statement.
“The President appealed to his friend Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to employ his full political weight to promote and speed up the return home of the hostages,” it said.
The UAE is a regional power, although fellow Gulf state Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and Hamas for the release of hostages, which has so far led to 99 Israelis’ and foreigners’ being freed. A UAE state news agency report said the two presidents discussed relations between their countries and issues of mutual interest.
ICC prosecutor to meet with survivors of Oct. 7 attack
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is visiting Israel “at the request and invitation of survivors & the families of victims of the 7 October attacks,” the court said in a tweet.
It said Khan will also visit Ramallah to meet senior Palestinian officials.
“The visit, while not investigative in nature, represents an important opportunity to express sympathy for all victims and engage in dialogue,” the court said.
Israel 'attentive' to U.S. perspective as it prepares to resume military campaign, Israeli official says
Israel is "attentive" to the U.S. perspective on how to proceed with the military campaign against Hamas after the temporary cease-fire comes to an end, an Israeli official told NBC News today.
"Israel and the administration are in close dialogue on many fronts and issues, including the need to apply pressure on Hamas after the pause and give humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza," the official said.
Blinken met with Israel's war Cabinet earlier today in Tel Aviv, where, he said, he discussed humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza going forward. Blinken also said he made it clear to Israeli officials that there must be efforts to minimize casualties.
American lawmakers are in renewed discussions on aid for Ukraine and Israel as part of their upcoming government funding package. Some lawmakers, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are pushing to condition funding for Israel on its government's taking active steps to stop the fighting.
Blinken says he hopes to extend pauses and continue hostage releases
Blinken met with Israeli officials and the president of the Palestinian Authority today, saying one of his hopes for the visit is to work on an extension of the agreement to pause hostilities between Hamas and Israel.
At a news conference in Tel Aviv, Blinken said the U.S. "will not stop working until we get every hostage back home with their families and loved ones."
He also said that he understood Israel's intention to resume its military pressure on Hamas once the pause was over but that he told the war Cabinet that humanitarian protections for civilians must be put in place ahead of major operations.
"We discussed the details of Israel's ongoing planning, and I underscore the imperative by the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale that we saw in northern Gaza not be repeated in the South," Blinken said. "As I told the prime minister, intent matters, but so does the result."
Truce extension ‘up in the air,’ former Ambassador Mark Regev says
Six more Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas today, the last day of a truce between Hamas and Israel.
Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s former ambassador to the U.K., joined Andrea Mitchell to discuss why the truce was extended for only one day, the possibility of freeing more hostages before midnight and the stakes of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Israel.
6 more hostages on their way to Israel, IDF says
Six more hostages are on their way to Israel hours after two women were returned today, the IDF said.
Israel's military said it had information from the Red Cross that the hostages were en route. Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari also said on X that two minors and six women of dual nationalities were released today in exchange for 30 imprisoned Palestinians, 23 of whom were minors.
According to the parameters of the deal framework, extensions to the temporary pause in hostilities required Hamas to release 10 hostages a day. Two Russian Israelis who were released yesterday outside of the agreement framework are considered to be included on today's list, Al Ansari said in a post.