Israel-Hamas war: What happened on day 183?

The IDF attacked a Hezbollah rocket launcher and operational infrastructure in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the IDF reported. 

In recent hours, Air Force fighter jets struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon in response to rocket launches from Lebanese territory to the area of Safed. 

Earlier on Sunday, several additional launches were detected that crossed from Lebanese territory towards the Mount Dov area, and there were no reported casualties.  

This is a developing story. 

US forces destroyed a mobile surface-to air missile system in a Houthi-controlled territory of Yemen on April 6, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday.

US forces also shot down one unmanned aerial vehicle over the Red Sea, its statement said, adding that a coalition vessel also detected, engaged and destroyed one inbound anti-ship missile. No injuries or damage were reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "desperate" to reach a hostage-ceasefire deal, a senior Israeli official told Sky News on Sunday.

According to the source, the accidental killings of the seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers "changed everything."

Six months following the October 7 massacre and the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Pope Francis agreed on Sunday to Foreign Minister Israel Katz's request to meet with the families of the Gaza hostages. 

This is a developing story. 

The IDF withdrew soldiers from Gaza so they could rest and regroup, US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby told ABC’s This Week.

This is about “rest and refit for these troops that have been on the ground for four months,” Kirby said after Israel pulled Division 98 out of Gaza.

It’s “not necessarily, that we can tell, indicative of some coming new operation for these troops. They've been on the ground for four months. The word we're getting is they're tired, they need to be refit.”

Houthi terrorists in Yemen said on Sunday they had launched rockets and drones at British, US, and Israeli ships, the latest in a campaign of attacks on shipping in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war.

The Iran-aligned group said it had targeted a British ship and a number of US frigates in the Red Sea, while in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, it had attacked two Israeli vessels heading to Israeli ports.

The operations occurred during the last 72 hours, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement.

Reports have emerged of a possible temporary ceasefire in Gaza that could be reached by Eid al-Fitr, The New Arab reported Sunday.

Egyptian sources told the London-based pan-Arab news organization that a temporary humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza during Eid al-Fitr in two days is possible. 

Hamas leadership reportedly told Arab media that they "hope that the failure of Netanyahu and his government will lead to a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of all forces from the Gaza Strip."

These reports come amid the Israeli delegation's departure for renewed ceasefire and hostage negotiation talks on Sunday. According to Israeli media, the negotiating team, which includes Mossad head David Barnea, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) head Ronen Bar, and Major-General Nitzan Alon, has been given a "significant mandate" from the war cabinet.

Israel's war cabinet expanded the mandate of the Israeli negotiating team in the hostage deal talks that departed for Cairo on Sunday, two senior Israeli officials who are familiar with the matter reported. 

Head of the Mossad David Barnea, head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Ronen Bar, and Major-General Nitzan Alon left for Cairo on Sunday afternoon to meet with the prime minister of Qatar, the head of the CIA, and the head of Egyptian intelligence in an attempt to reach a breakthrough in hostage negotiations. 

This is a developing story. 

Israel is not the stumbling block to a hostage deal; Hamas is, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday as he pushed back at US President Joe Biden’s charge that he needed to do more to bring him the remaining 133 captives.

Israel is not the one preventing a deal. Hamas is the one obstructing an agreement,” Netanyahu charged at the start of the weekly government meeting. 

He spoke Cairo prepared to hold another round of hostage talks that would include CIA Director William Burns as well as Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari officials.

Hamas has demanded that Israel halt the war and withdraw the IDF from Gaza, while Israel has insisted that it must complete its military mission to destroy the terror group and oust it from the enclave.

Last week, a wreath with the inscription "May her memory be a blessing, the country is more important” was laid at the front door of the family of hostage Liri Albag amid growing harassment of hostage families. 

Albag was one of the soldiers kidnapped to the Gaza Strip on October 7. 

A few months ago, documentation was published in which she appears along with other soldiers after their kidnapping. 

Albag was not defined as someone killed in captivity, and for now, the IDF still classifies her as a living hostage.

Palestinians break into the Israeli side of Israel-Gaza border fence after Hamas terrorists infiltrated areas of southern Israel, October 7, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa)

Albag's sister reacts to the event

Her sister Roni said to Walla! "Bad people decided to send us a mourner’s wreath at home. We don't know who it is. On Friday, the community’s security officer saw it, took it straight to the police so we wouldn't see it, and filed a complaint."

“I cried hysterically. How in the world are there people who dare to send a mourner’s wreath to the family when we know she is alive? I have no words; it shocks me and makes me sick," she added.