Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was afraid that the Israel-Hamas war could take attention away from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“We already can see the consequences of the global society switching [its attention] because of the tragedy in the Middle East,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press yesterday in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

He added that they would “fight for every bit of attention” as “no attention will mean no help” until it motivates the society, the military and Ukrainians.

Zelenskyy also said his country's war with Russia was in a new phase and winter might complicate the war after the summer’s counteroffensive did not get the “desired results” because of the lack of military forces.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate conference after urging Israel to protect civilians in southern Gaza as the truce ends.

Before meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, Blinken said to reporters yesterday that the U.S. would support Israel's right to defend itself but also “urged Israel to take every possible measure to avoid civilian harm.”

“[It’s] imperative to the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale we saw in northern Gaza not to be repeated in the south,” he said.

Dubai is the last stop on his third trip to the Middle East since Oct. 7.

Israeli forces stand guard as Palestinian Muslims perform the Friday noon prayer on a street in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud.

After a week of respite, Palestinians in Gaza are describing the resumption of Israeli airstrikes on the enclave.

“Every 10-15 minutes, there have been strikes, some of it 500 meters (550 yards) away from us,” Mohammad Ghalayini, 44, who lives in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, told NBC News. “It’s been all around us” and “very apparent,” he said in a voice note, with what he said was the distinct buzz of an Israeli drone in the background.

Ghalayini was also among those to receive leaflets dropped by the Israeli military, warning Palestinians in Khan Younis to move even further south, to the border city of Rafah.

There has already been one exodus, from north to south Gaza, as the Israeli military warned Palestinians to evacuate the combat zone. Now many of these people are being asked to move again.

The United Nations secretary-general said today that he "deeply regrets" Israel resuming its military operations after a seven-day pause in fighting and hoped for a renewed truce in Gaza.

“I still hope that it will be possible to renew the pause that was established.” António Guterres wrote on X, adding that the return to hostility shows the significance of “a true humanitarian ceasefire.”

The pause in fighting expired at 7 a.m. local time (12:00 a.m. ET).  

TEL AVIV — Relatives of the hostages remaining in Hamas captivity are agonizing over the fate of their loved ones after the fighting resumed in Gaza this morning.

Gil Dickmann’s cousin, Carmel Gat, was kidnapped from kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7 but was not among the 110 hostages released as part of the truce deal this week.

Dickmann’s other cousin, Alon Roman, is married to Yarden Roman, who was released Wednesday, reuniting with her husband and daughter who survived the Hamas attack.

An image taken from southern Israel shows a rocket being fired from inside the Gaza Strip toward Israel this morning.

Hamas said it holds Israel responsible for “the resumption of war,” according to a statement published on its website today.

“Negotiations took place throughout the night to extend the truce, during which the movement offered to exchange prisoners and the elderly,” the statement read.

TEL AVIV — As fighting in the Gaza Strip resumed this morning, Israel said 137 hostages were still being held by Hamas.

The truce agreement last week allowed 110 people, including 24 foreigners, to leave Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, according to numbers released by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But with the truce now over, concerns are growing about the fate of those remaining in Gaza. They include 117 men and 20 women, according the released numbers; 11 are foreigners. There are also two children under the age of 18 and 10 people over the age of 75.

Seven Israelis are still considered missing and are not confirmed as hostages.

At least one body was carried from the debris of what appeared to have been a residential apartment in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel resumed its bombardment of the area after the truce with Hamas expired early today.