Israel-Hamas War Day 180: What is going on in Gaza, Lebanon?

The explosions heard in Damascus Wednesday night were not an attack, Syrian media said.

The reports had come just days after an airstrike in Damascus, widely attributed to Israel, killed the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi and several other Iranian and allied commanders, near an Iranian consulate building on Monday. 

דיווחים בסוריה: פיצוצים נשמעו בשמי דמשק @JackyHugi pic.twitter.com/KyKdWXpAsO

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) April 3, 2024

Maariv Online contributed to this report.

The United States is open to removing the Ansar Allah movement, more commonly known as the Houthis, from its list of designated terrorist organizations if the Iranian-backed jihadist group ceases its attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. 

The Houthis are currently holding captive the 25 crew members of the Japanese cargo ship the Galaxy Leader, which the group hijacked in November. 

Tim Lenderking, the United States special envoy for Yemen, said to reporters on Wednesday that releasing the sailors would "show good faith" and an "intent to de-escalate" on the part of the Houthis, according to Bloomberg News.

"My hope," Lenderking is quoted as saying, "is that we can find diplomatic off-ramps." The envoy also reportedly said that the United States "would certainly study" removing the Houthis from its list of designated terror organizations, "but not assume it's an automatic thing." 

The comment is in line with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement in November upon re-designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization. "This designation seeks to promote accountability for the group's terrorist activities," Blinken said at the time. "If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and [the] Gulf of Aden, the United States will reevaluate this designation."

Protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to show solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen March 29, 2024. (credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS)

Biden administration removed Houthi terror listing

Then-US president Donald Trump originally designated the Houthis a terrorist organization in January 2021, in one of his last acts in office. The Biden administration later reversed this decision, citing the designation's likely exacerbating effect on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

In Yemen, tens of thousands— 50,000 children in 2017,  according to an estimate by Save the Children— have died of extreme hunger or disease as a consequence of the war. 

Israel designated the Houthis a terrorist group on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

The Houthis, which have been at war with Yemen's internationally recognized government for a decade, launched a campaign of attacks on merchant ships following the outbreak of war upon Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel. 

Throughout the campaign, which has included drone and missile attacks as well as hijackings and hostage-taking, the Houthis have killed three sailors, one of whom was Vietnamese and the other two Filipino, and wounded eleven more, six of whom were Egyptian and five of whom were Filipino. 

The United States, United Kingdom, and allies launched a military campaign, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, in December 2023 to protect shipping in the Red Sea. In addition to patrolling the region and intercepting aerial attacks, the coalition has launched retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets inside of Yemen. 

IDF soldiers were operating in Jenin, in the West Bank, late Wednesday night.

Engineering and other forces were operating to clear terrain and arrest wanted persons. 

Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at Metula in Israel's North late Wednesday night, prompting rocket sirens. No one was reported killed or wounded.

The fire came shortly after sirens sounded in the Gaza border area following the launch of two rockets toward the city of Sderot. One was intercepted, and the other landed in an open area.  

Israel's political system should agree to hold a national election in September as it approaches a year since the war against Hamas broke out on October 7, National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz said in a press conference on Wednesday evening.

The statement was the first time Gantz mentioned a specific month as a goal for an election since joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an emergency government days after the Hamas massacre in October.

Gantz said that he had spoken to "political leaders" in recent weeks about the topic, updated the prime minister, and will "continue dialogue on the subject."

According to Gantz, an agreement to hold an election will give Israel the time to continue its war efforts while enabling the citizens of Israel to know that "trust will soon be renewed between us." It will also prevent a schism amongst the people and, hopefully, lead to other "Zionist and responsible" leaders joining the government during the interim period. He also argued that this would give Israel international backing.

Benny Gantz holds a press conference at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, April 3, 2024 (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Israel and Hamas will continue to battle for many years, war-cabinet minister and National Unity MK Benny Gantz said in an address to the Israeli public on Wednesday evening.

Speaking on recent efforts made to reach a hostage and ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip, Gantz publicly apologized to the families of the 134 remaining hostages over the Israeli government's inability to reach a deal.

"If there is an opportunity to bring the hostages home, we will not miss it," Gantz said. "We will not take part in a government that is not doing everything it can to release the captives.

"It shames me when I hear comments from elected officials disgracing the families. Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] must publicly support the hostages' families and make sure all coalition members treat them with dignity.

Gantz continued, saying that Israel's top security priority was to change the reality on the northern front against the Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah.

Israeli forces simulating warfare with Hezbollah in Israel's North, January 27, 2024 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Israel, he said, will continue its fight against Hamas "for many years," directly contradicting the government's war goal to dismantle Hamas as part of Operation Swords of Iron.

"Our goal is to ensure all northern residents will return to their homes safely as early as this summer."

At the end of a home front exercise in the Haifa District on Wednesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that a war in Lebanon would be disastrous not only for Hezbollah but also for Lebanon. 

The minister said Israel was preparing for various scenarios and threats against near and distant enemies. 

"We are increasing our preparedness, and at the same time, we are also expanding our action against Hezbollah, against other entities that threaten us; we are striking our enemies all over the Middle East,” Gallant said, referring to the alleged Israeli airstrike which killed senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi earlier this week. 

Gallant added that a war with Hezbollah would “be a difficult challenge for the State of Israel, but it would be a catastrophe for Hezbollah and Lebanon.”

Gallant’s comments come amid heightened tensions on Israel’s northern border.

The main Palestinian faction in the West Bank on Wednesday accused Iran of trying to spread chaos in its territory and said it would oppose operations from outside that had nothing to do with the Palestinian cause.

Fatah, the movement that controls the Palestinian Authority, said it would not allow "our sacred cause and the blood of our people to be exploited" and said it would act against any interference from outside aimed at harming security forces or national institutions.

Israel has long accused Iran of helping Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas, the Islamist group in Gaza that led the October  7 attack on Israel and which has become more deeply entrenched in the West Bank over recent years.

Last month, the Israeli military said security forces had stopped advanced weapons, including anti-tank mines, from being smuggled into the West Bank.

Hamas is sticking to its original ceasefire and hostage negotiations demands that Israel must halt all military operations in the Gaza Strip, Hamas leader abroad, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a Wednesday speech, according to Arab media sources.

Speaking on International Quds (Jerusalem) Day, Haniyeh said, "We are adhering to our demands for a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the return of the displaced."

Haniyeh said that the Islamist movement at war with Israel was sticking to its conditions for a ceasefire in Gaza, including an Israeli military withdrawal.

Israel was interested in establishing an IDF-led military government in the Gaza Strip following the conclusion of the war on Hamas, former MK and minister Haim Ramon alleged on his X account on Wednesday.

The former Labor and Kadima faction member wrote he "recently learned" that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was considering the option due to Israel's "failure" in finding local Palestinian clans willing to participate in the coordination of aid supply for Gazan civilians.

לאחרונה נודע לי כי ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו ביקש מהמתפ"ש (יחידת מתאם פעולות הממשלה בשטחים) לבדוק הקמת ממשל צבאי ישראלי ברצועת עזה, לאחר כישלונם של כל הניסיונות למצוא "כוחות מקומיים" או כוחות זרים שישלטו בחלוקת הסיוע ההומניטרי. אבל שר הביטחון יואב גלנט, בגיבויו המלא של המטכ"ל,…

— חיים רמון (@ramonhaim) April 2, 2024

The Jerusalem Post previously reported that Gazan clans, basically large families that have influence in certain areas, could play a role in Gaza in areas where Hamas has been defeated and there is a power vacuum.

Arab media also reported last month that the IDF has begun taking steps to test the rule of local Gazan clans in the Gaza Strip. 

As per Asharq Al-Awsat, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) chief, Maj.-Gen., Ghassan Alian, was in contact with local leaders who weren't affiliated with Hamas to organize the protection of the humanitarian aid convoys by local armed groups.

The report stated that most factions refused; however, a large clan reportedly agreed, and another is considering the proposal.

According to Ramon, Netanyahu approached COGAT with the idea of establishing a military government in Gaza but was shot down. The plan was aborted after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, with full backing from IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, vetoed it.