Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 168?

"We announce the death of the Zionist prisoner, 'Yagev Buchshtav,' 34 years old, as a result of a lack of medicine and food," Hamas claimed in a statement published to their telegram channel on Saturday. 

Yagev Buchshtav, 34, and his wife, Rimon Kirsht Buchstav, 36, who worked in alternative medicine, were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nirim on October 7. Rimon was released from captivity on November 28, as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.

The terrorist organization remarked, "We had previously warned that enemy prisoners are suffering from the same conditions that our people are suffering from." 

Hamas is known to use psychological warfare as a tactic of terrorism.

A Panama-flagged crude oil tanker caught fire after being struck by an unidentified projectile off Yemen on Saturday, in the latest attack on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The incident happened 23 nautical miles northwest of the Red Sea port of al-Mukha, British maritime security firm Ambrey said.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency also reported the incident, saying the fire was extinguished by the crew.

"Vessel and crew reported safe. Vessel continuing to next port of call," UKMTO added in an advisory note.

Ambrey said the tanker was registered under Union Maritime Ltd, a UK company, in 2019 before changing its registration details, including name and operator, last month.

The Israeli delegation in Qatar has agreed to an American compromise on the issue of the number of Palestinian prisoners who will be swapped for each Israeli hostage and await a response from Hamas, Israeli media reported Saturday night.

According to the reports, there were originally major disagreements about this number, prompting the American compromise proposal.

The Israeli team in Qatar has been authorized to discuss the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, according to N12, who also reported that the delegation will likely remain in Qatar for a few days while awaiting a Hamas response that is expected to take some time to receive due to the logistics of getting approval from Hamas leadership in Gaza.

Mossad Chief David Barnea flew to Qatar Friday to meet CIA director William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani, and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamal to discuss a hostage deal that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believes is possible to agree on, although there is "still difficult work to get there."

N12 reported that Senior Hamas officials, such as Ismail Haniyeh, were also present for the talks in Qatar.

The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed a $1.2 trillion budget bill, which included a ban on US funding for UNRWA until 2025.

The bill also eliminates funding for the UN Commission of Inquiry against Israel and fully funds the annual US security commitment of $3.3 billion for Israel, which allocates funding for the Iron Dome and other defensive systems. 

"The historic ban on US funding to @UNRWA that passed today with an overwhelming bipartisan support, demonstrates what we knew all along: UNRWA is part of the problem and can not be part of the solution. UNRWA will not be a part of Gaza's landscape in the aftermath of Hamas," Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X. 

"Thousands of UNRWA employees are involved in Hamas terror activities and their facilities were used for terrorist purposes. I urge more countries to follow the US and ban funding to this organization. Thank you @SpeakerJohnson, @RepJeffries @SenSchumer @LeaderMcConnell for your leadership and continued bipartisan support of Israel during our just war against Hamas murderous terrorist regime," Katz added. 

Sgt.-Maj. Ilay David Garfinkel was killed in combat during an operation in the Ephraim region of the West Bank.

Sgt.-Maj. Ilay David Garfinkel (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Garfinkel was 21, from Sitria, and a soldier in the Duvdevan unit of the Commando Brigade.

IDF fighter jets attacked a building being used by Hezbollah in Kfarkela, in southern Lebanon after IDF soldiers detected a Hezbollah terrorist entering the building, the IDF announced on Saturday.

Additionally, IDF fighter jets attacked Hezbollah-affiliated buildings in the cities of Naqoura and Ayta ash Shab. A Hezbollah observation post in the area of Khiam was also struck.

The IDF also announced that throughout Saturday, it had detected several launches from Hezbollah into northern Israel in the areas of Mount Dov, Margoliot, and Shomerah. Additionally, wreckage from an aircraft was found in two different areas in Kfar Blum.

The IDF began establishing a center to provide medical treatment and humanitarian aid to the wounded Gazans and medical teams in al-Shifa Hospital who have been evacuated due to the ongoing operation, the IDF announced on Saturday.

Along with the dedicated medical area, the IDF has brought in medical equipment and on-site medical teams to monitor the well-being of the evacuated Gazans.

This comes as part of the IDF's ongoing efforts to continue eliminating terrorists in the hospital while avoiding harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment, the military added.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations organization on Saturday reported an incident 23 nautical miles west of Yemen's Mukha, according to a UKMTO advisory note.

The Commanding Officer of the Southern Command said on Saturday in Shifa Hospital, "We will end this operation only when the last of the terrorists is in our hands - dead or alive."

The Southern Command Commanding Officer, Yaron Finkelman, held a situation assessment at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Friday with the Head of the Intelligence Directorate (J2), MG Aharon Haliva, the Commanding Officer of the 162nd Division, BG Itzik Cohen, and the Commanding Officer of Shayetet 13, Capt. A.

Finkelman said, "The operation here in Shifa is significant. A daring, tricky, and most impressive operation so far. It struck hundreds of terrorists, apprehended hundreds of terrorists, and brought in significant operational and intelligence assets."

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a Saturday statement on X, formerly Twitter, that under the leadership of Antonio Guterres, "The UN has become an antisemitic and anti-Israeli body that shelters and emboldens terror."