IDF maintains troops massed on Gaza border; Hamas follows through with threats to renews hostilities against Israel after Palestinian demands were not met in Cairo negotiations.
The IDF renewed strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip shortly before 11:00 a.m. on Friday morning. The strikes come as retaliation for Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel which broke the relative quiet of a three-day truce after it expired earlier on Friday morning.
The army stated that Israeli forces remain amassed on the Gaza border. The IDF pulled its troops out of the Gaza Strip shortly before the Cairo-brokered cease-fire was announced on Tuesday morning.
Jerusalem had hoped Hamas would agree to another 72-hour extension to allow time for Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams in Cairo to come to an agreement that would end Operation Protective Edge, which now enters its 32nd day.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said his organization had rejected the idea of an extension, but would continue to negotiate.
The Jerusalem Post
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