Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 168?

A long line of blocked relief trucks on Egypt's side of the border with the Gaza Strip where people face starvation is a moral outrage, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during a visit to the Rafah crossing on Saturday.

It was time for Israel to give an "ironclad commitment" for unfettered access to humanitarian goods throughout Gaza, said Guterres, who also called for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The UN would continue to work with Egypt to "streamline" the flow of aid into Gaza, he added.

The IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Securty Agency) conducted additional raids into al-Shifa Hospital on Friday as part of ongoing ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

Five of the wounded Palestinians at the hospital have died, the Hamas-run health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

IDF troops in the West Bank arrested several people overnight and confiscated terror funds in a separate incident, according to an IDF statement on Saturday.

Troops also mapped the home of Mujahid Barkhat Mansour, the terrorist who carried out Friday's attack at Parsa junction. Troops mapped Mansour's house in Dayr Ibzi' for demolition, in line with Israeli policy.

IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and Border Police troops arrested two suspects in the city of Nablus and a wanted man in Al-Ram, north of Jerusalem.

Troops also arrested another man in Tulkarm in a separate incident, as well as confiscated funds destined for terrorist activity.

Some 11% of pro-Palestinian British adults support the expulsion of Jews from the Middle East, a YouGov poll published on Wednesday found.

The poll collected data from 4,061 respondees from across the UK.

The survey found that of the 29% of Brits who said they had more sympathy for the Palestinians than Israelis in the current conflict, 11% held a favorable view of Hamas. This equates to 4% of all British citizens.

Additionally, 14% of pro-Palestinian respondees said that they felt that Hamas’s October 7 terror attack was justified. This equates to 1 in 20 Brits holding this view.

On October 7, Hamas invaded Israel and murdered over 1200 people while taking 253 more captive. The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict confirmed that there was significant evidence of Hamas committing acts of rape, sexual violence, and necrophilia during the attack. 

More than half (51%) of pro-Palestinian respondees said that they had no sympathy for the Israeli side of the conflict. This equates to 21% of all Brits, more than 1 in 5.

Sirens sounded across northern Israel on Saturday amid rocket launches and suspected hostile aircraft intrusions from the Lebanese border.

The Upper Galilee Regional Council reported that two drones fell in open areas near Kfar Blum. 

The town's emergency standby squad put out a small fire that broke out in the aftermath of the unmanned aerial vehicles' crash, and was carrying out further scans in the area, the council said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Egypt's border with Gaza on Saturday to renew pleas for a ceasefire that could bring relief to a territory devastated by more than five months of war between Israel and Hamas.

His trip comes as Israel threatens to launch a major military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, just over the border from Egypt, despite international appeals against such an attack.

A majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are sheltering around Rafah. Though conditions are worse in the north of the strip, the plight of civilians across the territory has deteriorated sharply as the conflict has ground on.

Guterres arrived on Saturday in Al Arish in Egypt's northern Sinai, where much of the international relief for Gaza is delivered and stockpiled.

The Gardai (Irish police) are investigating death threats and a package of white powder that was sent to the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, according to a report in the Irish Times on Friday.

A package arrived at the Israeli embassy in Dublin on March 14, leading to the evacuation of the building and the deployment of military Emergency Ordnance Disposal teams, which respond to suspicious packages.

Soldiers in Hazmat suits took the bag of powder away for analysis and determined it was sugar.

Commander of the 82nd Battalion, Lt. Col. Ofir Caspi, was reprimanded by the IDF on Friday after publicly expressing that Jewish settlement is "the only real solution" to Israel's security needs in the Gaza Strip.

Following Caspi's comments made to reporters in Khan Yunis on establishing settlements in the Gaza Strip, the IDF launched an inquiry conducted by his brigade and division commanders.

According to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, "The officer retracted his words and expressed regret. The officer is also currently fighting in Khan Yunis. His statement was made during a long conversation and while describing the battles and the war."

"The officer understood the deviation from the norm and what is expected of him as an officer wearing a uniform." 

For weeks, Israel has been threatening to operate in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials, preparations have been underway, and the operation is imminent. The international community, spearheaded by the US, is on standby, raising increasing alarm regarding military action in the area that has become home to over one million Gaza residents who have been displaced from their homes as a result of Israel’s war on Hamas. 

Even as international pressure mounts, Netanyahu has insisted Israel’s path to “total victory” must go through Rafah, which is considered the hub of Hamas’ terrorist activity. To relieve some of the pressure, the Israeli leader agreed to send a delegation to Washington in order to present the plans and get American feedback. 

Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza came after the surprise attack carried out by the terrorist group on Oct. 7 of last year. The goal stated by Netanyahu was to strip Hamas of its military capabilities and release the hostages that were taken on that day. Over 250 people, the majority of them Israeli civilians, were kidnapped during the attack. One hundred twenty-three have been released, a few as a result of a military operation and the majority as part of a temporary truce with Hamas in the first weeks of the war. According to Israeli intelligence, at least 30 of those still being held are believed to be dead.

American-Israeli discussions on Rafah

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected in Israel on Friday, where he will likely discuss both Israel’s intentions regarding Rafah and the status of the talks currently being held in Qatar, which are aimed at securing a hostage deal and some sort of a cease-fire. 

As Israel continues to plow through the Gaza Strip since October with its air force, navy, and ground forces, it has left Rafah for last. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it has already destroyed 18 of Hamas’ 24 battalions. The remaining Hamas forces are believed to be in Rafah, essentially meaning that it still has an organized military force standing, making it a critical focal point of the military operation.

The IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Securty Agency) conducted additional raids into al-Shifa Hospital on Friday as part of ongoing ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

The joint forces eliminated dozens of terrorists during the last day's raid, according to an IDF spokesperson.

"The IDF and Shin Bet are continuing to conduct precise operational activity in the Shifa Hospital area while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment."

Over the course of the current multi-day operation, more than 170 terrorists in the hospital and surrounding area were eliminated. They questioned over 800 suspects and located numerous weapons and terrorist infrastructures.

Strikes throughout the Gaza Strip

Israeli fighter jets struck approximately 35 targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including operational command centers, military posts, and infrastructure belonging to terror organizations, as well as assisted operations of IDF ground troops.

Nahal Brigade troops eliminated approximately 15 terrorists in central Gaza.

The troops identified several terrorist cells barricaded inside a compound and eliminated them by precise sniper fire, a precise missile strike, and a helicopter strike. 

In a separate incident, two identified terrorists in the area were eliminated by a precise missile strike.