Israel-Hamas war: What happened on day 210?

An Israeli incursion in Rafah would put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gazans at risk and be an incredible blow to the humanitarian operations of the entire enclave, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office said on Friday.

Israel has warned of an operation against Hamas in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where around a million displaced are crowded together in shelters and makeshift accommodations.

"It could be a slaughter of civilians and an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation in the entire strip because it is run primarily out of Rafah," said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, at a Geneva press briefing.

Aid operations out of Rafah include medical clinics and food distribution points, including centres for malnourished children, he said.

Head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, has returned to Qatar following a two-week trip to Turkey in which he conducted a series of official meetings, the terrorist organization said on Friday.

Some of the officials Haniyeh reportedly met with include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's foreign minister, and the leadership of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Hamas added that Haniyeh was received well by dozens of other Turkish leaders who expressed their solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian people. 

A World Health Organization official said on Friday that the agency had a contingency plan prepared in case of an Israeli incursion into Gaza's Rafah but said it would not be sufficient to prevent a substantial rise in the death toll.

"I want to really say that this contingency plan is a band-aid," said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, at a Geneva press briefing via video link.

"It will absolutely not prevent the expected substantial additional mortality and morbidity posed by a military operation."

Dozens of people joined in protest outside of minister-without-portfolio Benny Gantz's home in Rosh Haayain for the second week in a row to demonstrate against the government, Israel media reported on Friday.

The demonstrators included reservists and activists from throughout the country. They accused the government of failing to return the hostages held in Hamas captivity and the neglect of thousands of evacuees from Israel's South and North. 

A 43-year-old woman has been moderately injured from the shrapnel of an aerial target that was intercepted by the IDF after crossing into Israeli territory from Lebanon, MDA said on Friday afternoon. 

The woman is currently being treated by MDA. No further damage has been reported as a result of the interception.

Rocket sirens sounded in the upper Galilee on Friday afternoon.

Citing the military, Israeli media later reported that the IDF had intercepted an aerial target that had crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon.

Later, the MDA reported that a woman had been moderately wounded from shrapnel as a result of the interception.

No damage to property has been reported.

The United States is expected to transfer fighter jets, armed drones, and other aircraft to Qatar in a move that will supposedly allow for its forces to be repositioned, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Friday morning.

According to the report, repositioning forces will allow the US to avoid restrictions on conducting airstrikes from an air base used by the US in the United Arab Emirates. 

A decision of this kind highlights the existing tensions between the US and the Persian Gulf countries, the WSJ report noted. Many of these countries have allowed US forces to be based in their territory while also being wary of being drawn into the existing conflict in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war continues.

Two soldiers have been wounded after approximately 20 settlers attacked IDF troops near Giv'at Asaf located in the West Bank, Kan News reported on Friday morning. 

Iran has released the crew of a seized Portuguese-flagged ship linked to Israel but remains in control of the vessel itself, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the container ship, MSC Aries, with a crew of 25, in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route.

“The seized ship, which turned off its radar in Iran's territorial waters and jeopardized the security of navigation, is under judicial detention,” Amirabdollahian said, according to a foreign ministry post on X late Thursday night.

Israel should prevent further attacks on aid convoys bound for Gaza after Israeli settlers attacked a shipment from Jordan, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Thursday, who also called Hamas actions to divert aid "unacceptable."