Hamas has made a mockery of the ceasefire deal

Early this morning, Hamas fired the first shot that signalled the end of its ceasefire deal with Israel, roughly an hour before the truce was due to expire. Before the ceasefire broke there had been a night of intense negotiations over the next stage of the hostage releases. Hamas, as it has done since negotiations started, tried every trick in the book to buy time and maximise its gains. Last night, it did not agree to Israel’s demand to release the remaining surviving women.

Hamas has violated the ceasefire deal on several occasions. It breached some of it terms about separating mothers and children. It also broke the ceasefire in Gaza by attacking IDF soldiers, and again when it claimed responsibility for a terror attack in Jerusalem yesterday. In that attack, three Israeli civilians were killed. Despite this, Israel has carried on adhering to the ceasefire agreement, not wanting to risk the hostages.