Israel-Hamas War Day 193: What's going on in Gaza, Lebanon?

The IDF on Tuesday announced a drill testing the interface between its cyber and technology units and its Northern Command operational units.

The announcement of the drill comes as Israel considers potentially imminent attack options against Iran following the Islamic Republic's attack of around 350 aerial threats on Israel on April 14.

Part of Israel's response could be in the cyber domain, and it is quite possible that an attack by the Jewish state will lead to a further counterstrike by Tehran and its senior proxy, Hezbollah.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will reportedly meet with Hamas officials in Qatar to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and ceasefire negotiations, KAN reported on Tuesday. 

This is a developing story 

New steps have been taken to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, particularly to northern Gaza, the IDF announced on Tuesday. 

These initiatives, led by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), include transferring 126 aid trucks, opening two more bakeries, and working on the Bani Suheila water pipeline, all in northern Gaza. 

The passage of hundreds of trucks carrying food supplies and humanitarian aid has become a priority for COGAT. As such, in the past two days, 553 aid trucks passed through the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana crossing following security checks. 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke about the security situation in the Middle East during a phone call early on Tuesday, the US Defense Department announced in a statement. 

They discussed the aftermath of Iran's April 14 attack on Israel, which saw the US, Israel, and other nations engage in a joint defense operation.

Austin also reiterated American support for Israel's defense and the strategic importance of regional stability.

This is a developing story.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz sent letters to 32 countries calling to further sanction Iran and to declare the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, the minister said on the X social media platform on Tuesday. 

In the statement, he called on his counterparts to "curb and weaken Iran. Iran must be stopped now - before it is too late." 

Alongside the military response to the firing of the missiles and the UAVs, I am leading a diplomatic offensive against Iran.

This morning I sent letters to 32
countries and spoke with dozens of foreign ministers and leading figures around the world calling for sanctions to be…

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) April 16, 2024

This is a developing story. 

Japan urged Iran to exercise restraint following its attack against Israel during a telephone call between the two countries' foreign ministers, the Japanese foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Japan Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa also urged that navigation safety be ensured in the region's waters in a call with her Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Japanese government said.

Iran will respond to any action against its interests, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday, according to the Iranian Student News Agency, a day after Israel warned it will respond to Tehran's weekend drone and missile attack.

"We categorically declare that the smallest action against Iranian interests will certainly be met with a severe, widespread and painful response against any perpetrator," Raisi told the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Israel's military Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, said on Monday that Iran's attack on Israel - which was a retaliation after the April 1 bombing of the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus - warranted a response.

Iran's deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani told state TV on Monday night that Tehran's counteroffensive following any Israeli retaliation would be "a matter of seconds as Iran will not wait for another 12 days to respond".  

The IDF's 162nd Division eliminated terrorists and destroyed terrorist infrastructure in a precise raid in the central Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Tuesday morning. 

IDF tanks killed numerous terrorists that were identified as advancing on IDF soldiers, the military added. Additionally, IDF troops directed Israel Air Force aircraft that struck terrorist infrastructure. 

Additionally, throughout Monday, IDF fighter jets destroyed a rocket launcher, terrorist infrastructure, terror tunnels, and military compounds used by armed Hamas terrorists.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has postponed a visit to India scheduled for this week due to "ongoing events in the Middle East," the US Embassy in New Delhi said on Tuesday.

Fears of a wider conflict in the region have escalated after Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on its embassy in Syria this month.

This is a developing story. 

“This past Saturday, I flew on the most meaningful flight I have ever made,” Maj. N, an Israel Air Force (IAF) pilot in Squadron 122 who has been on reserve duty since October 7, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

He was referring, of course, to Israel’s broad defense operation amid the multifaceted airstrikes launched by the Islamic Regime, titled Iron Shield.

While N was faced with disappointment on Friday when he told his wife that he would not be coming home that night – or that entire weekend, for that matter – he was filled with both “excitement” and “focus,” once he was briefed on the historic operation he would be partaking in.