'Dangerous battle zone': Israel dropping leaflets urging Palestinians to leave areas in southern Gaza

Palestinians on Friday said that Israel has been dropping leaflets over southern Gaza, asking residents to evacuate their houses east of the town of Khan Younis as it was now a “dangerous battle zone.” The leaflets indicated that Israel, which has so far concentrated primarily on the northern section of the Gaza Strip, was getting ready to expand its operation. Earlier in the conflict, hundreds of thousands of civilians left northern Gaza and sought safety in Khan Younis and other southern cities. Fighting resumed in Gaza on Friday immediately after the expiry of a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas, with Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reporting 29 deaths after the truce expired. An AFPTV livecam showed a heavy cloud of grey smoke rolling over northern Gaza, and apparent sounds of automatic weapons fire and explosions within the first 90 minutes after the truce expired at 0500 GMT. Israel’s military said fighter jets were “currently striking” Hamas targets in Gaza, and AFP reported air strikes in the north and south of the territory. Earlier Friday, Israel accused Hamas of having violated the terms of the cease-fire, including by firing rockets toward Israel from Gaza. The halt in fighting began Nov. 24. It initially lasted for four days, and then was extended for several days with the help of Qatar and fellow mediator Egypt. During the week-long truce, Hamas and other militants in Gaza released more than 100 hostages, most of them Israelis, in return for 240 Palestinians freed from prisons in Israel. Virtually all of those freed were women and children, but the fact that few such hostages remained in Gaza complicated reaching a deal for a further extension. Hamas, a militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years, had also been expected to set a higher price for the remaining hostages, especially Israeli soldiers. About 140 hostages remain in Gaza, with more than 100 having been freed as part of the truce. Qatar and Egypt, which have played a key role as mediators had sought to prolong the truce by another two days. Israel has been under growing pressure from its main ally, the United States, to do more to protect Palestinian civilians when it resumes its strikes against Hamas. With inputs from agencies