Airstrikes bombard Gaza Strip; Israel, Hamas trade blame on truce's end: Live Updates

Israeli military forces on Friday bombarded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and dropped leaflets warning civilians to flee areas in the south, signaling an escalation in combat hours after a weeklong truce between Israel and Hamas expired.

Israel said it resumed fighting after Hamas "violated" the cease-fire and fired toward Israel. Hamas officials blamed the Israelis, saying they turned down offers to release elderly hostages as well as the bodies of hostages.

Within 30 minutes of the truce's end, Israel announced its fighter jets were striking Hamas targets throughout Gaza, including a southern Gaza community east of Khan Younis. Another strike hit a home northwest of Gaza City, according to the Associated Press. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said over 100 Palestinians died in Israeli airstrikes Friday.

Israeli forces also dropped leaflets over areas of southern Gaza, warning people to flee and labeling Khan Younis a “dangerous battle zone.”

Meantime, sirens warning of incoming rockets blared in several Israeli communities near the Gaza border; there were no reported hits. Photos captured rockets being fired from inside Gaza toward Israel.

The halt in fighting began a week ago, on Nov. 24, and was extended with the help of Qatar and fellow mediator Egypt. It led to the release of over 100 hostages and 240 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. On Friday, Qatar said it was working to renew a truce and expressed "deep regret" over the renewed combat.

More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war broke out nearly two months ago, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. About 1,200 Israelis have been killed, mostly civilians during Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Developments:

∎ There are 137 hostages being held by Hamas as of Friday, including 115 men, 20 women and two children according to an Israeli government briefing. Of this group, 126 are Israeli and 11 are foreign nationals.

∎ German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on the international community to work toward another cease-fire for the sake of “the remaining hostages who have been hoping for release in dark tunnels for weeks, and for the suffering people in Gaza, who urgently need more humanitarian aid.”

∎ Khalil al-Hayeh, a senior figure in Hamas’ political branch, told Al Jazeera that he is open to discussions on a comprehensive cease-fire and the release of additional civilian hostages.

Hamas official says group is open to civilian hostage, Palestinian prisoner swaps

Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, told the Associated Press that the militant group is open to swapping more Israeli civilian hostages for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

Hamdan said Israel, ahead of the expired truce, declined recommendations for hostage releases that were put forward by mediators, including Qatar, AP reported. Hamas accepted three of the suggestions, Hamdan said.

Hamas rejected a list of 10 names of women Israel wanted released, saying they are female soldiers who were captured in military posts, Hamdan told the AP.

WHO ARE THE RELEASED PALESTINIANS?Released prisoners highlight Israeli detention system's controversial tactics

UN official calls for cease-fire, says renewed combat is 'catastrophic'

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday called for a cease-fire and said the resumption of combat is "catastrophic."

He added indications that Israel plans to expand and intensify its military offensive following the expired truce is "very troubling," citing the death toll of civilians in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis in the war-battered enclave.

"Since 7 October, thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, " he said. "More now face the same fate. Others risk being forcibly displaced to already severely over-crowded and unsanitary parts of Gaza. The situation is beyond crisis point."

Israel publishes evacuation zone map of Gaza

The Israeli military released a map divvying up the Gaza Strip into zones on Friday, and said the resource will combine "information regarding the evacuation of Gazan civilians for their safety in the next stage of the war."

"This enables the residents of Gaza to orient themselves and to evacuate from specific places for their safety if required," the Israeli military said on X.

The map came out hours after Israeli military forces resumed airstrikes across the Gaza Strip and began to drop leaflets throughout the southern area of the enclave.

US Jewish schools accept hundreds of Israelis fleeing war

As deadly attacks and bombings unfolded in Israel and Gaza, Jewish day schools in U.S. cites like Philadelphia and Dallas began hearing from worried families: Can you take our children?

About 92% of Jewish day schools in the U.S. and Canada reported receiving inquiries about enrolling Israeli students since Oct. 7, according to a survey by Prizmah Center for Jewish Day Schools, and 80% of the schools surveyed said they'd already enrolled new students. 

In the two-week period immediately after war broke out, Prizmah said, 278 new students enrolled in Jewish day schools, including community, Conservative, Orthodox, pluralistic and Reform schools.

The center heard from families looking to enroll their children for a variety of reasons: Some were relocating from Israel; some were visiting the U.S. when war broke out and didn't want, or were unable, to return home; and others wanted their children to feel a deeper connection to their Jewish faith and heritage.

"The schools wanted to open their arms as wide as they could and embrace a very traumatized population," Paul Bernstein, Prizmah's founder and CEO, said. Read more.

-Phaedra Trethan