DATE UNDEFINED – The Israeli military announced Friday that it had resumed fighting in Gaza. Air strikes and artillery fire were reported in Gaza City as a ceasefire expired and no agreement was reached to extend it.

“Hamas violated the pause in operations and also fired into Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said.

“The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) has resumed the fight against the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”

The announcement came shortly after the military said it had intercepted a rocket fired from Gaza, the first from the territory since a rocket was fired minutes after the first day of the ceasefire.

An AFP journalist said Israeli warplanes had carried out a series of strikes in Gaza and reported artillery fire in Gaza City.

Drones were also heard in the air over the south of the territory for the first time since the ceasefire, an AFP reporter in the area said.

The resumption of fighting dashed hopes of extending a seven-day ceasefire in which dozens of hostages were released in exchange for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners.

The ceasefire also allowed more aid to the devastated Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken called for an extension of the pause in fighting at a meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials, warning that any resumption of fighting must protect Palestinian civilians.

The ceasefire had interrupted fighting that began on October 7 when Hamas fighters broke through the Gaza Strip’s militarized border with Israel.

According to Israeli authorities, the surprise attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and militants kidnapped about 240.

In response, Israel pledged to eliminate Hamas and launched a military air and ground campaign in Gaza that the Hamas government said killed more than 15,000 people, mostly civilians.

During the Qatar-brokered ceasefire, 80 Israeli hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

More than 20 foreigners, most of them Thais living in Israel, were released outside the scope of the agreement.

Six more Israelis, some of whom had dual citizenship, were released overnight, hours after two women were released.

That brought the total number of people released on Thursday to eight, fewer than the 10 hostages per day that Hamas was required to release under the ceasefire agreement. A source close to the militant group said it counted two Russian-Israeli women released on Wednesday as part of the seventh group.

The release brought relief for Keren Shem, whose daughter Mia was among those released. The family released footage showing Keren crying with joy as she was informed by phone of her daughter’s imminent release.

“Mia is coming back,” she called.

“WE WANT AN EIGHTH DAY”

Shortly after the hostages arrived in Israel, the country’s prison service said another 30 Palestinian prisoners – 23 minors and seven women – had been released.

After meeting with leaders in Israel and the occupied West Bank, Blinken said Washington wanted to “see this process move forward.”

“We want an eighth day and more.”

A source close to Hamas said the group supported another extension and that mediators were working to extend the pause, but negotiations appeared to have failed.

Israel made it clear that it viewed the ceasefire as a temporary pause to ensure the release of the hostages.

“We swore to eliminate Hamas and nothing will stop us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video released by his office after meeting with Blinken.

But his government is coming under increasing pressure to account for how it will protect civilians in the blockaded area where there is no possibility of escape.

Blinken warned that any resumption of Israel’s military operation “must put in place humanitarian civil defense plans that minimize further casualties of innocent Palestinians.”

In particular, Israel must “clearly and precisely” designate areas “in southern and central Gaza where they can be safe and out of the line of fire,” he said.

International organizations have called for more time to get medical supplies, food and fuel to Gaza, where an estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced from their homes.

The ceasefire had allowed people to return to the ruins of their homes to search for remaining belongings among the rubble, providing a sense of security after weeks of daily bombardment.

“We fear that the ceasefire will end and the problems and bombings will begin again,” Gaza City resident Mohamad Naasan told AFP on Thursday.

“I hope that the ceasefire will be resumed… so that peace reigns and we all return home.”

REPORT: ISRAEL had intelligence in attack

The lull in fighting had not eased violence elsewhere.

On Thursday morning, two gunmen opened fire at a bus stop in Jerusalem, killing three people in an attack claimed by Hamas.

The gunmen, who police said were from annexed East Jerusalem, were shot dead at the scene.

Two Israeli soldiers were slightly injured in a ramming attack on a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the army said, adding that the attacker was also “shot and neutralized.”

The violence in Gaza has also increased tensions in the West Bank, where nearly 240 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since October 7, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry.

The New York Times reported overnight that Israeli authorities knew Hamas was planning a major attack and had received a plan for the attack, which the group appeared to have largely followed on October 7.

According to the report, intelligence and military officials dismissed the plan as ambitious, even after a signals analyst warned that the group had conducted a training exercise consistent with the plan.