From Tamar Michaelis
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has resumed combat operations against Hamas, accusing the militant group of violating the truce agreement by firing toward Israel.
From CNN staff
The truce between Israel and Hamas appeared to have expired Friday with no immediate sign of an agreement being reached to further extend the hostage deal to an eighth day.
It is not yet clear whether this means that fighting will resume in the Gaza Strip, which suffered extensive damage and loss of life during seven weeks of Israeli bombardment.
An hour before Friday’s deadline was set to expire Israel’s aerial defense system intercepted one rocket launched from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. There was no indication of who launched the single rocket.
The truce, which started last Friday, was expected to expire at 7 a.m. local time (12 a.m. ET). An agreement to extend to a seventh day came down to the wire on Thursday.
Some context: Egyptian and Qatari negotiators had been pushing to extend the pause in fighting in Gaza for an extra two days to facilitate the release of further hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and to allow more aid into the strip, according to Egypt's State Information Service.
Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that a condition of any extension to the pause in fighting is that Hamas must release 10 Israeli women and children held hostage per day.
Under the terms of the deal, Israel freed three Palestinians for every Israeli hostage released.
As the truce expiration loomed both Israel and Hamas have indicated they’re prepared for fighting to resume.
“We should be prepared for a quick transition into full scale fighting at any point, today, tomorrow, at any moment. As soon as we maximize the move to return hostages we will resume fierce fighting across the whole Gaza Strip,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday.
Hamas’ military wing on Thursday asked its forces to maintain a high-combat readiness posture.
In the seven-day pause in fighting, 80 Israelis — primarily women and children and some of whom are dual citizens — and another 24 foreign nationals have been released. Another Israeli dual citizen was also freed outside of the agreed-upon deal.
As of Thursday, 240 Palestinians had been freed from Israeli prisons — mainly women and minors.
From CNN staff
An uneasy truce between Israel and Hamas that has lasted for seven days is set to expire again at around 7 a.m. local time Friday (midnight ET).
Just over an hour before the truce was set to expire, the Israeli military said its air defense system intercepted one rocket launched from Gaza.
The pause in fighting has brought temporary respite to those in the besieged enclave of Gaza and led to the release of dozens of hostages, the freeing of Palestinians from Israeli jails and the ratcheting up of much-needed humanitarian supplies to the strip.
The truce, which started last Friday, was only renewed at the last minute for the seventh day on Thursday after a tense and lengthy back-and-forth.
Both sides are in a day-to-day extension phase of the agreement under which Hamas must offer up a new list of 10 hostages to be released to secure another 24 hours in the pause in fighting.
The military wing of Hamas is calling for its forces to remain on “high combat readiness” in case combat resumes, a statement said.
Here's what you should know to get up to speed:
From CNN staff
The Israeli military's air defense system intercepted one rocket launched from the Gaza Strip just over an hour before the truce between Israel and Hamas is set to expire, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said early Friday local time.
There is no indication of who launched the single rocket.
Rocket sirens have been heard in the Sderot area in the final hours of the seven-day truce.
The current agreement between Israel and Hamas is set to expire at 7 a.m. local time Friday (midnight ET).
This post has been updated with additional information.
From CNN's Simone McCarthy
Israeli officials obtained a document describing Hamas’ battle plan for its October 7 terror attack more than a year before the militant group carried out the assault, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing documents, emails and interviews.
The roughly 40-page document did not give a date for the attack, but outlined “point by point” the kind of deadly incursion that Hamas carried out in Israeli territory in October, according to the Times, which reviewed the translated document.
Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan, assessing that it would be too difficult for Hamas to carry out, according to the Times.
The document, which the Israeli authorities code-named “Jericho Wall,” detailed an assault that would overwhelm fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and target key military bases. It was followed with precision by Hamas on October 7, the Times said.
On that day, Hamas militants struck across the border from Gaza in a coordinated assault taking more than 200 hostages and killing around 1,200 people – the largest such attack on Israel since the country’s founding in 1948.
The attack was widely seen a major Israeli intelligence failure, with a number of top defense and security officials coming forward in October to take responsibility to some extent for missteps that led to the attacks.
Later that month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received sharp public criticism after he accused security chiefs in a later-deleted social media post of failing to warn him about the impending attack.
“On the contrary, all the defense officials … assessed that Hamas was deterred,” Netanyahu wrote at the time.
According to the Times, the “Jericho Wall” document was circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, but it was unclear whether Netanyahu or other top political leaders saw the document.
From Tamar Michaelis and CNN's Sugam Pokharel and Michael Rios
A total of 30 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons in Damon, Megiddo, Ofer, Nafha, Ktzi’ot and Ramon on Thursday, the Israeli prison service said in a statement.
Under the terms of the Israel-Hamas truce, Israel has to free three Palestinians for every Israeli hostage freed.
After a tense and lengthy back-and-forth on extending the truce into a seventh day, the Israeli government eventually accepted a proposal for Hamas to release eight new Israeli hostages on Thursday. Israel agreed to count two Israeli-Russian hostages who were set free on Wednesday as part of Thursday’s release, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari also reiterated the terms of the truce extension Thursday, stating Israel would release 30 Palestinians in Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of 10 hostages in Gaza — with the two Israeli-Russian nationals released on Wednesday counted on the list as part of the hostage deal.
CNN's MJ Lee, Alex Marquardt, Kaitlan Collins and Becky Anderson contributed reporting to this post.
From CNN’s Sarah El-Sirgany, Larry Madowo and Eyad Kourdi
A total of 2,781 trucks carrying thousands of tons of international aid have crossed from Egypt into Gaza since October 21 through the Rafah crossing, according to an Egyptian official.
The aid comprises a substantial quantity of medical supplies and medications, amounting to 3,176 tons, according to Ayman Walash, director of Egypt's foreign press center.
Additionally, the aid includes 13,348 tons of food; 10,359 tons of water; 3,203 tons of other relief materials; and 137 tons of tents, Walash said during a press briefing in Al-Arish, Egypt, on Thursday.
On the ground: A CNN team driving on a highway toward the Rafah crossing has observed hundreds of trucks loaded with aid awaiting entry into Gaza. One truck driver told CNN he has been waiting for 10 days to enter Gaza.
From CNN's MJ Lee, Alex Marquardt, Kaitlan Collins and Becky Anderson
Hamas and Israel are now fully in a day-to-day extension phase of their truce, where Hamas must offer up a new list of 10 hostages in order to secure another 24 hours in the pause in fighting.
Hamas claimed until the last minute Thursday that it was having trouble locating enough hostages to fulfill Israel's terms, posing serious challenges for the talks on extending the truce into a seventh day. After a tense and lengthy back-and-forth, Hamas ultimately waited until very close to the truce expiring to hand over a list.
The Israeli government decided to accept the proposal from Hamas, which was to release only eight new Israeli hostages on Thursday, and count two Israeli-Russian hostages who were set free on Wednesday as part of Thursday’s release, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
When the time came, hostages were released Thursday from different places and at different times. According to an Israeli official, this is because the hostages were held in different locations in Gaza.
With Thursday's challenges in mind, anxious negotiators fear the process of extending the truce into an eighth day could be very challenging.
Tamar Michaelis contributed reporting to this post.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has resumed combat operations against Hamas, accusing the militant group of violating the truce agreement by firing toward Israel.
The truce between Israel and Hamas appeared to have expired Friday with no immediate sign of an agreement being reached to further extend the hostage deal to an eighth day.
It is not yet clear whether this means that fighting will resume in the Gaza Strip, which suffered extensive damage and loss of life during seven weeks of Israeli bombardment.
An hour before Friday’s deadline was set to expire Israel’s aerial defense system intercepted one rocket launched from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. There was no indication of who launched the single rocket.
The truce, which started last Friday, was expected to expire at 7 a.m. local time (12 a.m. ET). An agreement to extend to a seventh day came down to the wire on Thursday.
Some context: Egyptian and Qatari negotiators had been pushing to extend the pause in fighting in Gaza for an extra two days to facilitate the release of further hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and to allow more aid into the strip, according to Egypt's State Information Service.
Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that a condition of any extension to the pause in fighting is that Hamas must release 10 Israeli women and children held hostage per day.
Under the terms of the deal, Israel freed three Palestinians for every Israeli hostage released.
As the truce expiration loomed both Israel and Hamas have indicated they’re prepared for fighting to resume.
“We should be prepared for a quick transition into full scale fighting at any point, today, tomorrow, at any moment. As soon as we maximize the move to return hostages we will resume fierce fighting across the whole Gaza Strip,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday.
Hamas’ military wing on Thursday asked its forces to maintain a high-combat readiness posture.
In the seven-day pause in fighting, 80 Israelis — primarily women and children and some of whom are dual citizens — and another 24 foreign nationals have been released. Another Israeli dual citizen was also freed outside of the agreed-upon deal.
As of Thursday, 240 Palestinians had been freed from Israeli prisons — mainly women and minors.
An uneasy truce between Israel and Hamas that has lasted for seven days is set to expire again at around 7 a.m. local time Friday (midnight ET).
Just over an hour before the truce was set to expire, the Israeli military said its air defense system intercepted one rocket launched from Gaza.
The pause in fighting has brought temporary respite to those in the besieged enclave of Gaza and led to the release of dozens of hostages, the freeing of Palestinians from Israeli jails and the ratcheting up of much-needed humanitarian supplies to the strip.
The truce, which started last Friday, was only renewed at the last minute for the seventh day on Thursday after a tense and lengthy back-and-forth.
Both sides are in a day-to-day extension phase of the agreement under which Hamas must offer up a new list of 10 hostages to be released to secure another 24 hours in the pause in fighting.
The military wing of Hamas is calling for its forces to remain on “high combat readiness” in case combat resumes, a statement said.
Here's what you should know to get up to speed:
The Israeli military's air defense system intercepted one rocket launched from the Gaza Strip just over an hour before the truce between Israel and Hamas is set to expire, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said early Friday local time.
There is no indication of who launched the single rocket.
Rocket sirens have been heard in the Sderot area in the final hours of the seven-day truce.
The current agreement between Israel and Hamas is set to expire at 7 a.m. local time Friday (midnight ET).
This post has been updated with additional information.
Israeli officials obtained a document describing Hamas’ battle plan for its October 7 terror attack more than a year before the militant group carried out the assault, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing documents, emails and interviews.
The roughly 40-page document did not give a date for the attack, but outlined “point by point” the kind of deadly incursion that Hamas carried out in Israeli territory in October, according to the Times, which reviewed the translated document.
Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan, assessing that it would be too difficult for Hamas to carry out, according to the Times.
The document, which the Israeli authorities code-named “Jericho Wall,” detailed an assault that would overwhelm fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and target key military bases. It was followed with precision by Hamas on October 7, the Times said.
On that day, Hamas militants struck across the border from Gaza in a coordinated assault taking more than 200 hostages and killing around 1,200 people – the largest such attack on Israel since the country’s founding in 1948.
The attack was widely seen a major Israeli intelligence failure, with a number of top defense and security officials coming forward in October to take responsibility to some extent for missteps that led to the attacks.
Later that month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received sharp public criticism after he accused security chiefs in a later-deleted social media post of failing to warn him about the impending attack.
“On the contrary, all the defense officials … assessed that Hamas was deterred,” Netanyahu wrote at the time.
According to the Times, the “Jericho Wall” document was circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, but it was unclear whether Netanyahu or other top political leaders saw the document.
A total of 30 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons in Damon, Megiddo, Ofer, Nafha, Ktzi’ot and Ramon on Thursday, the Israeli prison service said in a statement.
Under the terms of the Israel-Hamas truce, Israel has to free three Palestinians for every Israeli hostage freed.
After a tense and lengthy back-and-forth on extending the truce into a seventh day, the Israeli government eventually accepted a proposal for Hamas to release eight new Israeli hostages on Thursday. Israel agreed to count two Israeli-Russian hostages who were set free on Wednesday as part of Thursday’s release, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari also reiterated the terms of the truce extension Thursday, stating Israel would release 30 Palestinians in Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of 10 hostages in Gaza — with the two Israeli-Russian nationals released on Wednesday counted on the list as part of the hostage deal.
CNN's MJ Lee, Alex Marquardt, Kaitlan Collins and Becky Anderson contributed reporting to this post.
A total of 2,781 trucks carrying thousands of tons of international aid have crossed from Egypt into Gaza since October 21 through the Rafah crossing, according to an Egyptian official.
The aid comprises a substantial quantity of medical supplies and medications, amounting to 3,176 tons, according to Ayman Walash, director of Egypt's foreign press center.
Additionally, the aid includes 13,348 tons of food; 10,359 tons of water; 3,203 tons of other relief materials; and 137 tons of tents, Walash said during a press briefing in Al-Arish, Egypt, on Thursday.
On the ground: A CNN team driving on a highway toward the Rafah crossing has observed hundreds of trucks loaded with aid awaiting entry into Gaza. One truck driver told CNN he has been waiting for 10 days to enter Gaza.
Hamas and Israel are now fully in a day-to-day extension phase of their truce, where Hamas must offer up a new list of 10 hostages in order to secure another 24 hours in the pause in fighting.
Hamas claimed until the last minute Thursday that it was having trouble locating enough hostages to fulfill Israel's terms, posing serious challenges for the talks on extending the truce into a seventh day. After a tense and lengthy back-and-forth, Hamas ultimately waited until very close to the truce expiring to hand over a list.
The Israeli government decided to accept the proposal from Hamas, which was to release only eight new Israeli hostages on Thursday, and count two Israeli-Russian hostages who were set free on Wednesday as part of Thursday’s release, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
When the time came, hostages were released Thursday from different places and at different times. According to an Israeli official, this is because the hostages were held in different locations in Gaza.
With Thursday's challenges in mind, anxious negotiators fear the process of extending the truce into an eighth day could be very challenging.
Tamar Michaelis contributed reporting to this post.
