Gaza truce expires without word of extension, fresh clashes possible

A temporary truce in the Israel-Hamas war expired Friday morning, without immediate word from mediator Qatar on an extension, raising the possibility of renewed fighting.

The truce expired at 7 a.m (0500 GMT) Friday. The halt in fighting began a week ago, on 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.

Reaching agreements on swaps appears to be growing harder as most women and children held in Gaza have already been released.

In the hour before the truce was set to end, Israel said it intercepted a rocket fired from Gaza and Hamas-affiliated media reported sounds of explosions and gunfire in the Palestinian enclave.
(With inputs from reuters)