Israel-Hamas War Day 199: What's going on in Gaza, Syria, Iraq?

Three pedestrians were wounded in a ramming terror attack in Jerusalem on Monday morning, Israel Police reported on Monday morning.

In their announcement, Israel police stated :

"This morning, at approximately 08:00, a report came in regarding a car accident and the injury of three pedestrians on Techelet Mordechai Street in Jerusalem. Thankfully, the pedestrians sustained only minor injuries. However, the situation took a dangerous turn when two armed terrorists emerged from the vehicle involved in the accident. Despite their attempts, they failed to inflict harm with their weapons and hastily fled the scene, discarding their firearms as they made their escape.

Upon receiving the report, forces from the Jerusalem District swiftly responded to the scene, initiating extensive search operations. Thanks to their efforts, the discarded weapon was successfully located. Superintendent Doron Turgeman, commander of the Jerusalem district, conducted an immediate assessment on-site. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, he ordered the mobilization of all available resources, including special units, with the primary objective of swiftly apprehending the two fleeing terrorists."

Magen David Adom (MDA) arrived at the scene and provided the following statement: "At 07:52, a call was made regarding two people that were hit from what would seem the same vehicle in two different locations."

The terror also hit a pedestrian on Yermiyahu Street in Romema, Jerusalem, Both pedestrians were mildly injured, one was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center andthe other preferred not to recieve further treatment.

Treating the injured

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked members of the negotiating team responsible for ceasefire and hostage release talks, accusing them of conducting "false briefings" and "seeding desperations among the families of the hostages," during a war cabinet meeting on Sunday, according to Israeli media.

"The false briefings from the negotiation team only harm the effort to return the abductees," said Netanyahu, according to N12. "If there is someone on the negotiating team who is not ready to accept the decisions of the political echelon just to get anonymous and false headlines in the media for political purposes - let him be decent and not be here."

The war cabinet met on Sunday evening for the first time in 12 days to discuss the issue of the hostages.

Negotiating team says they feel opportunities for a deal were missed

Earlier this month, members of the negotiating team told N12's Uvda investigative show that they feel that opportunities for a deal were repeatedly missed and that they feel that they were ignored by the prime minister's office.

US President Joe Biden issued a statement on Sunday in advance of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins Monday night.

The statement addressed the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, as well as the surge in global antisemitism that followed its outbreak with Hamas's October 7 attack, and the ongoing plight of Israelis held hostage in Gaza.

"This Passover falls particularly hard on hostage families trying to honor the spirit of the holiday – a story centered on freedom – while their loved ones remain in captivity," the statement said. "Our hearts are with all the victims, survivors, families, and friends whose loved ones have been killed, taken hostage, wounded, displaced, or are in harm’s way."

A surface-to-air missile was launched at an Israeli unmanned aircraft flying above Lebanon on Sunday night, and the Israeli craft fell in Lebanese territory, for which Hezbollah took credit.

The drone that was brought down above the Al Aishiyeh area in southern Lebanon was "waging its attacks on our steadfast people," a statement said by the group said.

Israel Air Force fighter jets attacked the site from which the missile was launched.

The Palestinian political faction Fatah charged on air that Hamas had deliberately killed aid workers, stolen aid and manufactured a food crisis in Gaza, according to a Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) investigation published on Sunday.  

A Fatah TV anchor reported that Hamas had attacked aid workers, stolen food and water and caused food prices to skyrocket in the Gaza Strip – which PMW said constituted a triple crime. 

The majority of Israelis support the Damascus strike, which Israel has not claimed responsibility for, according to a new survey by The Israel Democracy’s Institute’s Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Police Research published on Sunday.

A total of 514 respondents were interviewed via an internet panel and by telephone in Hebrew and 98 in Arabic. he maximum sampling error was ±4.04% at a confidence level of 95%.

Mohammed Reza Zahedi, the top commander in the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for Lebanon and Syria was assassinated in an airstrike, The Jerusalem Post reported. He was killed alongside a lieutenant and about five other officers, according to the IRGC. Bloomberg reported that an entire IRGC command wing was killed. 

Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Sunday it downed an Israeli drone that was on a combat mission in southern Lebanon.

The drone that was brought down above the Al Aishiyeh area in southern Lebanon was "waging its attacks on our steadfast people," a statement said by the group said.

At least five rockets were launched from Iraq's town of Zummar towards a US military base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, two Iraqi security sources told Reuters.

The attack against US forces is the first since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against US troops.

It comes a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani returned from a visit to the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden at the White House.