Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 197?

Despite reports that Qatar is considering continuing its role as a mediator between Hamas and Israel, the Hamas leadership is considering leaving the country, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

According to the report, sources in the Arab world said that in recent days, Hamas has been holding talks with two Arab countries and noted that one of them is Oman.

As you may recall, in recent years, with the accession of Arab countries to the Abraham Accords, Israel has also had contacts with Oman, and last year, Muscat approved Israeli flights to pass through its airspace. However, this decision was canceled with the outbreak of war on October 7th.

If the leadership of Hamas leaves Qatar, there is a fear that the crisis in relations will cause the collapse of the contacts for the release of Israeli hostages from the captivity of Hamas, in which Qatar serves as a central mediator.

Earlier this week, as mentioned, the Prime Minister of Qatar, Muhammad al-Thani, announced that his country is "re-examining its position as a mediator between Israel and Gaza."

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani makes statements to the media with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Doha, Qatar, October 13, 2023. (credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Reuters)

"Our position is being misused by politicians for their own purposes," said Al-Thani, his words come a few days after Hamas announced once again that the current outline for the hostage deal is not acceptable to it.

Al-Thani also said, "We had extensive contacts with Tehran and Washington to prevent any escalation. We hear from all the parties in the region that they do not want war - the best way to reduce the escalation in the region is to stop the war in Gaza."

Previous proposals

Last Sunday, it was reported that Hamas's response to the mediators' proposal included a willingness to release only about 20 abductees in exchange for a six-week ceasefire - about half the number of abductees that the outline originally included, an Israeli official said.

The Israeli official pointed out that Hamas is using the answer he gave to the mediators with "ridiculous excuses" to explain the reduction in the number of abductees he is willing to release in the first phase of the deal.

For example, Hamas claims that some of the abductees included in this part of the deal - women, men over the age of 50, and men in serious medical conditions - are not alive or are not in its hands.

Sirens sound in the northern Israeli towns of Rehaniya, Alma, Kerem Ben Zimra, Yir'on, Dalton, Jish (Gush Halav), Baram, and Avivim.

The Israel Air Force attacked several terrorist strongholds in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip Saturday overnight.

Six people were killed during the activity, Walla reported, citing Palestinian reports.

One killed and six wounded in an airstrike on a military base used by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) to the south of Baghdad on Friday, according to Iraqi sources.

Significant strikes were carried out overnight between Friday and Saturday against targets of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, south of Baghdad, as reported by Saudi-owned Al-Hadath network. Additionally, Iraqi media claimed that the attack was carried out by a number of drones targeting a military base belonging to the militias.

According to reports, during the attack, two separate waves of strikes were conducted. Two PMF sources claimed that the strikes did not lead to casualties but caused material damage.

"The blast has caused material damage and injuries," PMF said in a statement, adding that a team was investigating. This is despite a report from two sources at a hospital in the nearby city of Hilla who said that one PMF fighter was killed and six were wounded.

PMF sources said the strikes targeted a headquarters of the PMF at the Kalso military base near the town of Iskandariya around 50 km south of Baghdad.

According to Al-Hadath, the attack was carried out by three F-35 jets. An American official claimed the attack was conducted outside Iran's territory. However, another report by CNN stated that no significant damage was recorded at the site. The attack took place near Osfia, located in Iran.

Dozens of American and Israeli aircraft were reportedly flying in the vicinity of Iraq, according to sources in the country. Additionally, the Iraqi sources claimed that among the waves of bombings to the south of the city Baghdad, an arsenal of weapons belonging to Iranian militias was attacked.

However, two security sources said it was not known who was responsible for the air strike and a US official said there had been no US military activity in Iraq. CNN reported that also Israel denied participation at bombing.

US mission in Syria and Iraq

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden looks on during a presidential campaign event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, this week. ‘Mr. president, I believe you carry within you a deep emotional and spiritual commitment to the Jewish people and the State of Israel,’ says the writer. (credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

On January 2024, a US airstrike foiled an attack on Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts US and other international forces in western Iraq. According to US military sources, a rocket launcher was fixed to a small truck that was parked east of the base with rockets ready to be fired.

With 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 more in Iraq, the US claimed their mission is to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State.

The Iraqi militia PMF is an Iranian backed militia and is numbered more than 100,000 fighters. After ISIS's defeat in Iraq, the militia became an official government-paid force linked to the Iraqi Interior Ministry. The newly official force began stockpiling missiles and drones and to operate more freely in Syria, threatening US and Israeli forces.

In 2020,  an American strike killed Suleimani on a trip to Baghdad. The Guards Intelligence Department suspected that an informant from the PMF provided details about Suleimani’s trip. This lead to his successor, Ismail Ghani, decision to create a force that was fiercely loyal to the regime.

Reuters contributed to this report.

This is a developing story.

The Israel Air Force struck Hezbollah military infrastructure in the areas of Mansour and Aitaroun in southern Lebanon on Friday, the IDF said in a statement.

Friday morning, the statement went on, three launches of projectiles were detected heading toward Kibbutz Yiftah in northern Israel. There were no casualties or damage, the IDF said. 

The IDF attacked the sources of the fire with artillery, it said. 

IDF attacked Hezbollah military structure in Ayta ash Shab

Friday afternoon, the IDF attacked a military structure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization and where terrorists were staying in southern Lebanon early Friday morning in Ayta ash Shab.

An Israeli Air Force F-35 flies during an aerial demonstration at a graduation ceremony for Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim air base in southern Israel, June 27, 2019. (credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

IDF observers from the 869th Battalion had recently identified the terrorists in the infrastructure, which was attacked using aircraft.

On Thursday, two anti-tank missiles hit a building in the area of Kibbutz Yiron Thursday evening, N12 reported. There were no casualties, but damage was caused to the building, and Hezbollah did not claim responsibility for the missiles.