Israel pounds 200 Hamas targets in HOURS since truce expired as airstrikes blast terrorists’ ‘last bastion’ every 15mins
ISRAELI forces have blitzed 200 Hamas targets in Gaza just hours after the ceasefire came to an end.
In terror strongholds Khan Younis and Rafah, IDF troops have expertly destroyed booby-trapped areas, tunnel shafts and Hamas command centres.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant watched the Israeli Air Force strike the Gaza Strip from a helicopter earlier today.
He released a video statement afterwards stating: "Hamas only understands force.
“Last night… I approved the continuation of the IDF offensive. This morning, we all saw the meaning of the strikes.
"It was seen in Israel and by the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip.
More on the hostage releases
“I watched the attacks and saw their intensity from the cockpit of an Air Force combat helicopter over the Gaza Strip.
"As I said from the first day, I repeat now, Hamas only understands force.
“We will continue to strike [Hamas] until we achieve the goals of the war: Dismantling Hamas, the elimination of its military capabilities and the return of the hostages to their homes.
"We will continue this mission until a successful ending, and victory over Hamas."
109 Palestinians have been killed since the hostilities resumed earlier today, according to the Gazan health ministry.
Hundreds more have been injured in the process.
A resident from Khan Younis told NBC News that the Israeli airstrikes have been near-constant.
Mohammad Ghalayini said: "Every 10-15 minutes there have been strikes, some of it 500 metres away from us."
Mohammad was among the millions of those in Gaza to have received leaflets dropped by the IDF.
The flyers were dropped from warplanes across southern Gaza urging residents to evacuate before Israel widened their offensive against Hamas.
The leaflets dropped all over al Qarara, Khirbet al Khuza'a, Abasan and Bani Suhaila in the Khan Younis area, read: "You are under orders to evacuate immediately and to go to the shelters in the Rafah area.
"The city of Khan Younis is a dangerous combat zone. We have warned you.
"Israel Defence Forces."
Khan Younis has become a giant shelter for the displaced during the war and Israel believes it's where Hamas will make its final stand.
The refugee haven city has also become a hiding spot for "Gaza's Bin Laden", Yahya Sinwar, and other terror chiefs.
A map published by IDF showing new combat zones in southern Gaza is meant to notify residents to avoid the area.
This comes after the IDF claimed Hamas "violated" the truce and launched a rocket attack on Israel in the early hours of Friday.
The seven-day truce was due to end at 7am local time - 5am UK time - but the Israeli military said: "Hamas violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory".
Shortly before the ceasefire was due to expire, sirens sounded in southern Israel - and the Israeli army said it had intercepted a rocket launched from Gaza.
In response, the IDF said it "has resumed combat against the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip".
It comes as:
- Israel hit Hamas targets in Gaza this morning
- The IDF claimed Hamas broke the truce after it carried a deadly terror attack in Jerusalem
- Hamas released six more hostages last night before the additional 24-hour truce expired
- It is estimated 137 people remain captive by Hamas
- The family of baby Kfir is desperate for answers after Hamas offered to release three bodies of hostages
- The seven-day ceasefire saw more than 100 people freed
In response, Hamas blamed Israel for "resuming war and aggression," saying it rejected offers to release more hostages.
Negotiators had hoped to extend the seven-day truce which led to the release of 86 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals.
But 136 hostages - including two children - were still trapped in the terror group’s besieged Gaza enclave yesterday as warjets resumed their blitz.
Fighting flared again as Israeli hostages Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, Maya Goren, 56, and Ronen Engel, 54, were confirmed to have died in Hamas captivity.
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk branded the resumption of hostilities in the Gaza Strip "catastrophic" with the situation now being "beyond crisis point".
Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said: "We blame the failure on two sides, the Israeli and American sides.
"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.
Loud, continuous explosions were heard coming from the Gaza Strip early on Friday morning and black smoke billowed from the territory.
Airstrikes hit southern Gaza - including the community of Abassan east of the town of Khan Younis, the Interior Ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.
Separately, two children have reportedly been killed in airstrikes in the north of Gaza.
In Israel, sirens blared at three farms near Gaza warning of incoming rocket fire - suggesting Hamas had also resumed its attacks.
A source close to Hamas said that the group's armed wing had received "the order to resume combat" and to "defend the Gaza Strip," with heavy fighting reported in parts of Gaza City.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the October 7 rampage by the militant group when gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages.
A Palestinian official close to the talks told the BBC that mediators still trying to reach an agreement between the two sides - even as fighting continues.
The halt in fighting began on November 24 - and initially lasted for four days.
It was then extended for several days with the help of Qatar and Egypt.
The seven-day pause allowed for the exchange of dozens of hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid into the shattered coastal strip.
On Thursday, Israel received a new list of 10 hostages to be freed in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners as gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in Jerusalem, killing three including a 24-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man.
A fourth person died following the shooting, according to reports.
They state the fourth person was an "armed civilian" who attempted to apprehend the two attackers, with Israeli forces mistaking him as hostile and seriously wounding him.
He is reported to have died of his injuries last night, though this has not been confirmed by authorities.
The two shooters, Murad Muhammad Nimr and Ibrahim Muhammad Nimr, are understood to have been killed as Israeli forces responded to the attack.
The IDF confirmed late last night that six Israeli hostages had been released by their terrorist captors and were safely back in Israel.
Among the newly-released hostages are a Mexican, a Russian, and Uruguayan national, according to the Qatari foreign ministry.
The last six to be freed are Nili Margalit, 41; Sapir Cohen, 29; Shani Goren, 29; Ilana Gritzewsky, 30; Bilal Alziadana, 18; and Aisha Alziadana, 17, with two more freed earlier: Mia Schem, 21, and Amit Soussana, 40.
Heartwarming footage showed Mia Schem break down in tears as she hugged her mother and brother for the first time since being kidnapped 55 days ago.
Up until a 24-hour extension was agreed yesterday, Hamas blamed Israel for the possible end to the truce, accusing them of "refusing to receive seven women and children" who had been held hostage.
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The terror group readied its armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, for battle when the ceasefire did not look set to be renewed.
The initial four-day truce agreement started last Friday and was extended by 48 hours until early Thursday, and then again until today.
