Another temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas fell through on Friday as an Israeli soldier went missing just hours after the deal was struck, according to Time.com.
Israeli Defense Forces said it believes one of their soldiers, 23-yer-old Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, was captured by militants in Gaza at the start of the 72-hour truce on Friday. Two other Israeli soldiers are believed to have been killed during the kidnapping.
"The [Israeli Defense Forces] is currently conducting intelligence efforts and extensive searches in order to locate a missing solider," the military said in a statement.
The first moments of the cease-fire were also marked by an exchange of rocket fire from both sides, resulting in at least 40 Gaza residents and five Israeli soldiers being killed on Friday morning, Time.com reported.
Israel has blamed Hamas for shattering the latest humanitarian cease-fire that was negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
But Hamas has also accused Israel of violating the truce, the fourth to be reached and broken since the start of the offensive in early July.
"It is the occupation which violated the ceasefire," Fawzi Barhum, spokesman for the Islamist militant group, said according to The Telegraph. "The Palestinian resistance acted based on...the right to self-defense (and) to stop the massacres of our people."
As of Friday, over 1,450 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of Israel's offensive on July 8. Another 8,200 have been wounded, according to health officials in Gaza. Sixty-one Israeli soldiers, two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker have been killed.
The family of the missing soldier has been notified, according to The Telegraph.
As IDF locates the alleged kidnappers, ground operations to eradicate all underground Hamas tunnels in Gaza have continued. Israel has promised to continue the campaign until all of the tunnels are destroyed, which the military says Hamas uses to carryout covert operations in Israel.
