Fighting continued in Gaza on Saturday after talks to extend a week-long truce that ended on Friday broke down, with mediators saying Israeli bombardment had complicated efforts to end the fighting again. According to Reuters reporters, areas east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, came under heavy shelling after the end of the ceasefire, and plumes of smoke were visible in the sky.

Israeli soldiers on the border with the Gaza StripPhoto: Tsafrir Abayov / AP / Profimedia

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09:39Authorities in the Hamas-controlled enclave said Israeli strikes on Friday killed 184 people, wounded at least 589 others and damaged more than 20 homes.

A brief summary of recent events:

  • Israel has told several Arab states that it wants to create a buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the Gaza border to prevent future attacks as part of proposals for the enclave after the war ends. The US does not support this option.
  • According to the New York Times, the Israeli military learned of Hamas’ plan to launch an attack on Israeli territory more than a year before the deadly Oct. 7 attack, but believed Hamas was unable to act.
  • Hamas still holds 137 hostages – 117 men and 20 women. 126 hostages are Israelis, another 11 are foreigners: eight Thai citizens, one Nepalese, one Tanzanian and one French-Mexican. The remaining ten hostages are over 75 years old. So far, Hamas has released 110 hostages – 86 Israelis and 24 foreign citizens.
  • US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that the Biden administration was preparing to announce a series of visa bans against Israeli settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

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Friday’s events surrounding the Israel-Hamas war were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro