Israel-Hamas war day 185: What's happening in Gaza, Lebanon?

Israel has doubled down in rejecting a substantive foreign probe second-guessing its own external investigation of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) incident in which the IDF disastrously mistakenly killed seven humanitarian aid workers on April 1.

This is the repeated message of multiple IDF and Defense Ministry sources to The Jerusalem Post, despite conflicting reports by KAN News and Channel 12.

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to respond to the Post’s request for a comment.

It appears that the discrepancy in the reports involves the agenda of some to broadcast Israel’s transparency and openness to seriously probing the issues involved, while others want to emphasize that the IDF’s own system for probing is second to none and trustworthy.

One of Iran’s top naval commanders spoke with the pro-Iranian al-Mayadeen in a wide-ranging interview, where he sketched out how Iran wants to become a naval and regional military power, and how it plans to confront Israel on various fronts. Iran’s pro-government Fars News characterized the new policy as calling for a “coalition of Muslim armies against the Zionist regime.”

Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri is the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy. The IRGC navy is different than the regular Iranian navy, but in many ways, the IRGC navy is more important for Iran’s regional strategy. The discussion then has larger ramifications for Iran in the region and its war on Israel, than a discussion with other commanders in Iran’s navy.

Tangsiri’s main message is that Iran will not remain quiet after an airstrike in Damascus killed a top IRGC commander last week; it will respond. Iran has been saying this for a week now. He added that Iran became an exporter of weapons, including missiles, boats, and radars, and that the US embargo on Iran has not succeeded, Iran is growing more powerful in its manufacturing power.

He further noted that Israel has “not achieved its goals” in Gaza, after six months of war; this is a key point for Iran, which has watched the war carefully, particularly Israel’s messaging on its own goals.

Chairman of Yisrael Beytenu, MK Avigdor Liberman, called to establish a state committee that will inquire into the October 7 failures in a post published on X on Tuesday.

"A state commission of inquiry must be established immediately to investigate the failure of October 7," Liberman wrote. "Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of his government continue to try to escape responsibility for the terrible disaster and the conception that led to it and are simply biding their time.

"The senior officers in the IDF who announced a few days before the outbreak of the war that Hamas was deterred and not interested in escalation continue to engage in new appointments to the security system and, even worse, appoint inspectors on behalf of those who are supposed to check their own failures.

"In light of all the developments, there is no escape; an investigative committee should be established now.
The next failure must be prevented," he concluded. 

חייבים להקים מיד ועדת חקירה ממלכתית שתחקור את המחדל של ה-7 באוקטובר.

ראש הממשלה נתניהו וחברי ממשלתו ממשיכים לנסות לברוח מהאחריות על האסון הנורא והקונספציה שהובילה לכך, ופשוט מושכים זמן.

הקצינים הבכירים בצה״ל שהודיעו ימים ספורים לפני פרוץ המלחמה שחמאס מורתע ולא מעוניין בהסלמה,…

— אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) April 9, 2024

The US does not have any evidence of Israel committing genocide in Gaza, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified during a hearing Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Armed Services.

Austin denied accusations that he “green-lit genocide.”

“From the very beginning we are committed to help assist Israel in defending its territory and its people by providing security assistance,” Austin said. “And I would remind everybody that what happened on October 7 was absolutely horrible.”

Simon Harris, who became the youngest-ever Prime Minister of Ireland on Tuesday after the sudden resignation of his predecessor, Leo Varadkar, affirmed on Saturday his willingness to recognize a Palestinian state, condemned Hamas, and called for the release of hostages. Harris also, however, condemned Israel’s conduct in its war against the jihadist group.

Harris addressed the war between Israel and Hamas and its allies during a speech on Saturday at the annual conference of his party, Fine Gael.

"We absolutely, fully condemn the massacre carried out by Hamas in October," Harris said, "and again, we call for the unconditional release of all of the hostages. But—" Harris said, pausing for applause, "we will not stay silent on the actions of the Israeli government either," a line that drew a second round of applause.

Aluminum exports to Israel from Bosnia and Herzegovina-based Aluminij have been increasing since November, said Israeli CEO and Founder Amir Gross Kabiri, who attributed the increase to Israeli consumers preferring not to import from Turkey and other "unfriendly" countries during the Israel-Hamas war and criticisms of Israel that have come with it.

While his factory has consistently exported aluminum to Israel, in the last four months, Kabiri has seen an increase of around 30% in exports to Israel.

IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police forces arrested nine suspects in the West Bank in an overnight operation on Monday into Tuesday, the military said.

In addition, the IDF said it had mapped for demolition the house of Kasem Issa, one of the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack on February 22 near the A-Za’ayem checkpoint, in which Matan Elmaliach, 26, from Ma’aleh Adumim, was killed.

Since the beginning of the war, forces have arrested some 3,700 suspects in the West Bank. About 1,600 of this number are affiliated with Hamas. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the Tel Hashomer base on Tuesday that Israel would eliminate Hamas, including in Rafah. 

"We will complete the elimination of the Hamas battalions, including in Rafah. No force in the world will stop us. Many forces are trying to do this, but it will not help because this enemy, after what he has done, will not do it again," he stated.

The Defense Ministry has purchased 40,000 tents to better enable evacuation and operation in Rafah in the near future.

Although the ministry acknowledged to the Jerusalem Post that 40,000 tents would not be enough for the full 1.4 million Palestinian civilians currently in Rafah, it is still considered a significant step forward.

Leaking, though there was no formal announcement, the purchase of the tents could also be a nod to the US by being transparent about the process to prepare for the evacuation in advance after months in which Washington complained that Israel’s preparations for evacuating civilians were both too secretive and insufficient.

The IDF's 146th Division successfully held a joint exercise on Monday in cooperation with the Israeli Air Force, Israel Navy, Israel Police, and search and rescue units in order to increase readiness against aggression from Israel's northern Border, the IDF announced on Monday.

The 146th Division is the largest division of reservists in the IDF and has operated in the entirety of Western Galilee since the beginning of the war.

The division's command and naval security forces emulated a number of potential scenarios, including defending the region, evacuating the wounded under fire, and various engagement and attack scenarios.