A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas dissolved within hours of its enactment Friday after an Israeli soldier was deemed missing and possibly captured by Hamas militants. 

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not say the cease-fire was officially over, he accused Palestinian militants of violating what would have been a three-day truce. However, Hamas said Israel broke the cease-fire, which was agreed upon hours earlier on Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

While Netanyahu did not personally announce the truce's failure, Israel notified U.N. Mideast envoy Robert Serry that the truce had ended because of Hamas' ongoing assault.

"Israel announces that Hamas has thus ended the humanitarian cease-fire and prevented the residents of Gaza from benefiting from it," the statement said, adding that Israel would take "strong action" against Hamas and other militants.

If the IDF soldier's capture is confirmed, it could worsen the conflict as mediators try in vain to broker a long-lasting humanitarian truce while discussing broader negotiations. 

Israel takes the capture of IDF soldiers very seriously, and the Israeli public usually supports drastic measures in order to facilitate the release the captive. Israel previously released a large number of captured militants to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was imprisoned in Gaza by Hamas for five years. 

It is unlikely that Netanyahu will make any compromises, while the soldier's fate is still unknown. 

The cease-fire was announced in the middle of the night by Secretary of State John F. Kerry and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The cease-fire, which took effect at 8 a.m. local time, followed air strikes in eastern and northern Gaza. 

After the truce was announced, Palestinians traveled back to neighborhoods that were deserted because of shelling, and Hamas policemen directed traffic. 

A battle broke out prior to the cease-fire between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces near Rafah, killing 38 people. 

Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, said Israeli forces were trying to destroy a tunnel that Hamas used to infiltrate Israel when they were attacked by suspected Hamas militants, which included a suicide bomber. During the fight, a soldier went missing, and IDF soldiers fear that he was dragged into a tunnel. The capture prompted a widespread search of the area. 

However, it is not clear if the soldier is still alive, as Islamist militants have previously used the remains of Israeli soldiers as a bargaining tool. 

Meanwhile, Palestinian militants fired more rockets into Israel Friday morning. Israel reported that one rocket was intercepted by the antimissile Iron Dome defense system, while seven others fell into open areas. 

Israel also announced that five soldiers were killed Thursday in a mortar strike outside Gaza, where thousands of Israel troops were gathered. The Israeli death toll is now at 61. 

The Palestinian death toll is now at 1,500 with 17 people reportedly killed in overnight strikes, according to Palestinian officials. Most of the dead are civilians. 

While Palestinians claim that Israel is to wholly to blame for the killings, Israel claims that Hamas uses civilians as human shields by storing rockets in homes, mosques and other municipal buildings. 

The rising death toll and the displacement of almost a quarter-million Palestinians has prompted mediators from the United Nations and the United States to push through a cease-fire deal after two weeks of gridlock. 

The latest cease-fire allowed Israel to continue seeking and destroying Palestinian tunnels that travel beneath Gaza to its border with Israel and permitted Hamas to be a part of the Palestinian delegation that will negotiate in Cairo, which will include the militant Palestinian group Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Authority. 

Prior to the truce's announcement, Netanyahu said Israel would not accept cease-fire terms that did not allow Israel to continue their operation to destroy Hamas' tunnels.  

While Hamas said they were willing to abide by the truce if Israel did, the fragility of the cease-fire was apparent at its inception.