Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 134?

The IDF announced on Saturday evening the death of Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Ori Yaish was killed in the terror attack on Highway 40 near Bnei Re'em a day before.

In addition, two combat soldiers from the IDF's Maglan Unit were seriously injured in southern Gaza battles, the Israeli military said.

In agreement to unfreeze tax funds earmarked for the Palestinian Authority (PA) that are held by Israel is "imminent," Norway's prime minister, whose country is working as an intermediary, said on Saturday.

Under interim peace accords reached in the 1990s, Israel's finance ministry collects tax on behalf of the Palestinians and makes monthly transfers to the PA. But no payments have taken place since November following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas terrorists based in the Gaza Strip in October.

On Jan. 21, Israeli officials said the cabinet had approved a plan for frozen tax funds earmarked for the Gaza Strip to be held by Norway instead of transferred to the PA.

"I would say that the talks have been concluded and we are very close to settling an arrangement," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told Reuters in an interview, saying he believed they had been able to forge a compromise.

Accessing this revenue is key to the survival of the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank.

Hamas has suspended all Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal negotiations until humanitarian aid is brought into the northern part of the Strip, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday citing a leading source in the terror organization.

"Negotiations cannot be held while hunger is eating away at the Palestinian people," the Hamas source told Al Jazeera.

Despite the IDF previously saying it had gained operational control of the northern Gaza Strip, IDF Col. (res.) Hezi Nachman speculated last week that Hamas is returning to power in northern Gaza.

"Today, there are between 300,000 to 500,000 people in northern Gaza, the IDF doesn't have enough troops to operate there effectively, Hamas is returning to power there, gunmen are roaming the streets," he told 103FM.

Palestinians gather to collect water from a house in Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. February 7, 2024 (credit: MAHMOUD ESSA/REUTERS)

IDF carried out strikes across the central Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon, Israeli and local Palestinian media said, with the military targeting terror operations near the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

Several houses in the vicinity of the hospital were struck, as per Palestinian media, with casualties reported.

This is a developing story.

Hamas's demands in talks over a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal are "delusional and disconnected from reality," Israel's hostages and missing persons coordinator Gal Hirsch told CNN on Saturday afternoon.

"We want a deal very much and we know we need to pay prices. But Hamas’s demands are disconnected from reality - delusional," CNN quoted the official as saying.

This is a developing story.

US forces conducted two strikes against a mobile anti-ship cruise missile and a mobile unmanned surface vessel (USV) launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.

Four anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched from Houthi-held areas over the Red Sea towards commercial ship MT Pollux between Friday at 1:15 pm. local time and 1 am on Saturday, CENTCOM said in a post on X.

It added that there were no reported injuries or damage to the MT Pollux or any other vessel in the areas.

There is "an extraordinary opportunity" in the coming months for Israel to normalize ties with its Arab neighbors, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday, while also emphasizing the need for the creation of a Palestinian state.

The top US diplomat said there were genuine efforts led by Arab countries to revitalize the Palestinian Authority so it can be more effective in representing the Palestinians.

"Virtually every Arab country now genuinely wants to integrate Israel into the region to normalize relations...to provide security commitments and assurances so that Israel can feel safer," Blinken said during a panel discussion at the annual Munich Security Conference.

"And there's also, I think the imperative, that's more urgent than ever, to proceed to a Palestinian state that also ensures the security of Israel," he added.

Last month, the Saudi ambassador to the UK Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud told the BBC Saudi Arabia is interested in normalization with Israel following the conclusion of the IDF's war on Hamas in Gaza.

However, the envoy said, Saudi Arabia had one condition - the creation of a Palestinian State. According to the ambassador, before the October 7 massacre, both countries were close to reaching an agreement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Isaac Herzog meet at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 17, 2024 (credit: THOMAS KIENZLE/Pool via REUTERS)

Blinken: Ending Gaza war, two-state path needed for Saudi deal with Israel

Last week, during his visit to Israel, Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv that Saudi normalization with Israel is dependent on an end to the Gaza war and Israel’s willingness to embark on the path to a two-state resolution to the conflict.

“When I saw the Crown Prince [Mohammed Bin Salman] in Saudi Arabia just a couple of days ago, he repeated to me his desire and determination to pursue normalization,” Blinken said as he referred to his visit to the Kingdom on Monday night as part of his weeklong trip to the region.

Bin Salman repeated that normalization required two things, Blinken said, “One, there needs to be calm in Gaza; two, there needs to be a clear and credible pathway to a Palestinian state.”

Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.

Hezbollah fired two anti-tank missiles at the IDF Mount Dov outpost on Saturday, Maariv reported, citing a Lebanese source.

Israel eliminated a terrorist in Gaza within 30 minutes of the individual launching a rocket attack on Ashkelon on Saturday afternoon, IDF stated.

Following a series of rocket launches from the Gaza Strip toward Ashkelon, the IDF identified the launch site and called in an airstrike.

The terrorist was eliminated, and the launch site was destroyed.

The launch site was identified with the help of the Nahal Brigade, and it was found in the al-Furqan area in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Northern Gaza had reportedly largely been cleared of Hamas fighters, but recent reports claim that there was a resurgence of Hamas after the IDF evacuated the area.

IDF soldier talks with doctor at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, February 16, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)

The majority of fighting in recent days has been in the south, particularly in the area around the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.

Hamas in Rafah

There has also been an increase in attacks in Rafah in the very south of the Gaza Strip as the IDF has been hunting for Yahya Sinwar.

Most Hamas brigades outside of Rafah were meant to have been degraded in combat ability.

Talks are still ongoing between Israel and Hamas with regard to releasing the hostages held by Hamas. 

However, in recent days, they have stalled as negotiators failed to find common ground.

Hamas's political chief Ismail Haniyeh blamed Israel for lack of progress in achieving a ceasefire deal in Gaza. 

Israel has called Hamas's demands delusional, saying in a statement on Wednesday, "Israel will not give in to Hamas’s delusional demands. Israel did not receive in Cairo any new proposal from Hamas on the release of our hostages.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh blamed Israel for a lack of progress in achieving a ceasefire deal in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave's ruling terrorist group said in a Saturday statement on Telegram.

Haniyeh added that Hamas "has responded all the time in a positive spirit and high responsibility with the mediator brothers in order to stop the aggression against our people, end the unjust siege, and allow the flow of aid, shelter, and reconstruction. 

Haniyeh also claimed that "The movement has shown complete flexibility in dealing with these issues, but it is clear so far that the occupation continues to maneuver and procrastinate in the files. Which concerns our people, while his position revolves around the release of prisoners held by the resistance."

In the previous ceasefire, Hamas released 40 hostages, who were kidnapped during their October 7 terror attack, in exchange for 120 security prisoners held in Israel over terror offenses.

Notably, during the last ceasefire, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad continued to launch rockets toward Israel, and terrorists affiliated with the organization carried out a terror attack at a bus stop in Jerusalem. Hamas also continued to attack Israeli forces as officials held a ceasefire extension talk.

Despite the claim that Hamas has been acting "flexibly" in negotiations, Haniyeh asserted that "The resistance will not accept anything less than a complete cessation of aggression, the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, the lifting of the unjust siege, the provision of safe and appropriate shelter for the displaced and displaced due to the crimes of the occupation, the return of the displaced, especially to the north of the Gaza Strip, an end to the barbaric starvation policy, and a commitment to reconstruction."

A Hamas terrorist stands in front of a picture of the group's top leader Ismail Haniyeh during his visit at Ain el Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, Lebanon September 6, 2020 (credit: REUTERS/AZIZ TAHER)

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza

While humanitarian aid has been entering Gaza, the United Nations has claimed they are struggling to distribute the aid. Additionally, evidence has shown that Hamas has been stealing aid intended for civilians. 

Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been internally displaced, as have many Israeli civilians who live close to the border. The evacuation of cities and villages within Gaza has been a tool used by the IDF to minimize civilian casualties. Despite this, Hamas has repeatedly been accused of using civilian shields to continue its terrorist activity.

"Achieving a prisoner exchange deal through which our prisoners, especially the old ones and those with high sentences, will be released is one of the goals of these negotiations, and this cannot be skipped," Haniyeh insisted.

"The movement deals with the ongoing negotiations in a positive spirit and high responsibility, but it will not neglect the great sacrifices of our people and the achievements of their valiant resistance.

"We will work with all available means to stop the bloodbath carried out by the enemy around the clock against our defenseless people."

Israel's terms for a ceasefire

Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a ceasefire proposal from Hamas, insisting that anyone would say no to the conditions. 

“Surrendering to the delusional demands of Hamas ..will not lead to the release of the hostages. It will only invite another massacre,” Netanyahu said, referencing the October 7 attack against southern Israel in which over 1,200 people were killed and over 250 were seized as hostages.

Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that the terms for a ceasefire would be an end to Hamas's control over the Gaza Strip and the release of all the hostages. 

Hamas officials have publicly stated their intention to repeat the October 7 terror attack.

“I would like to emphasize again - there is no other solution than total victory. If Hamas survives in Gaza, it is only a matter of time until the next massacre,” Netanyahu stressed. 

“The evil axis of Iran and its affiliates will continue unhindered its campaign of killing and aggression,” Netanyahu explained.

“We have no obligation to the crazy terms Hamas is talking about.. including the part about [releasing terrorists] with “blood on their hands,” Netanyahu said, stressing that “we have not committed” to that.

Netanyahu continued by insisting that there is supposed to now be “a process of negotiation through mediators but from what I have seen, Hamas is not there.”

The Jerusalem Post reported a month ago that Yahya Sinwar had refused Israel's terms for a complete end to the Gaza war. Sinwar reportedly sent messages expressing his readiness for the conflict to be extended for an unforeseeable amount of time, rejecting Israel's terms that a new government should take over the strip and the hostages should be freed.

Tovah Lazaroff and Reuters contributed to this report.