Israel-Hamas war day 212: What's going on in Gaza?

Transportation Minister Miri Regev confirmed Saturday that Israel attacked Iran in response to the unprecedented missile and drone attack on April 14, in what is the first official confirmation from Israel that the retaliatory attack took place. 

"We retaliated," she said in an interview with the right-wing Israeli Channel 14. 

Police officers operating in the area of the Old City of Jerusalem detained an Arab woman in possession of a knife.

There were no reported casualties from the incident.

The draft agreement between Israel and Hamas to stop the war in the Gaza Strip is the best since the start of the negotiations, and “its acceptance is imminent,” a high-ranking Arab official told Sky News Arabia. 

The official anonymously expressed fears that “both parties can make a 180-degree turn and return to square one.”

Hamas will announce soon that it agreed to the Egyptian mediation proposal, according to Saturday Arab media reports.

The Egyptian "Al-Rad" channel reported that Hamas waived the condition for a cessation of fighting in the first phase of a hostage deal. According to the report, Hamas waived the condition in the first mediation stage, with the guarantees of hostage mediators. 

Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds reported that the announcement would come within days, while Qatari government-aligned newspaper Al-Sharq reported that it would come within hours.

“In light of recent contacts with the mediator brothers in Egypt and Qatar, the Hamas delegation will head to Cairo [on] Saturday to complete the discussions,” Al-Sharq quoted Hamas as saying.

Hamas's delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday morning, Hamas told the Saudi newspaper Asharq on Saturday. Hamas also said its primary focus would be achieving national consensus and rebuilding the Strip.

It was also reported that in recent hours, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and Hamas have held discussions on the number of prisoners to be released in the deal.

Israel Air Force jets struck targets in Gaza from which rockets were fired on Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha in southern Israel on Friday, according to an IDF statement on Saturday.

Launches were detected from Khan Yunis towards Israel on Saturday, although they fell near the security fence in southern Gaza. The IDF responded by targeting the areas from which the launches occured.

Israeli aircraft also struck a ready-to-fire mortar launcher aimed at IDF troops in the central Gaza Strip.

After the IDF confirmed the evacuation of civilians in the area, fighter jets struck rocket launchers aimed at Israel in the south of the Strip.

Israeli naval troops also struck terror targets and provided fire support, assisting IDF ground troops in the central Gaza Strip, the military added.

The Gulf state was weighing whether to allow Hamas to continue operating the political office, and the broader review includes considering whether or not to continue mediating in the seven-month conflict, the official told Reuters.

US SECRETARY of State Antony Blinken meets with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Washington, last month. If Qatar wanted to pressure Hamas, it could have threatened to cut off funding, says the writer. (credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)

Qatar said last month it was reevaluating its role as mediator in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, citing concerns that its efforts were being undermined by politicians seeking to score points.

"If Qatar isn’t going to be mediating, they won’t see a point in keeping the political office. So that is a part of the reassessment," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official did not know if Hamas would be asked to leave Doha if the Qatari government did decide to close the group's office. However, the official did say Qatar's own review of its role would be influenced by how Israel and Hamas act during the ongoing negotiations.

The Biden administration reportedly hoped that the threat of expelling the Hamas leadership from Qatar would act as political leverage. However, analysts cited by the Post claimed it would only complicate negotiations.

“Applying pressure to Hamas in Doha is ineffective pressure,” an official briefed on the talks said. “The problem is the guys making the decisions are in Gaza, and they don’t care where the political office is located.”

Patrick Theros, a former US ambassador to Qatar, told the source that removing Hamas from Qatar would be “a nightmare” for the White House, and would foreclose any future talks. “We’d be cutting off our nose to spite our face,” he said.

Senior Hamas official Husam Badran claimed in early March that Hamas was not the party stalling a ceasefire in Gaza, but rather the disinterest came from Israel and America. “We didn’t declare negotiations have been stopped. We are the party most keen to stop this war,” he said.

“The only complication in the negotiations is Netanyahu’s stance, who refuses to deal with anything on the table,” he said. “Netanyahu is the most dangerous [person] for the stability of this region. He is the fire starter.”

According to Egyptian and Hamas officials, Qatar has threatened to expel Hamas officially from their base in Doha if they don't come to an agreement, but Badran denied this claim.

The IDF operated overnight and on Saturday morning to hunt down the killer of Elhanan Klein, which saw soldiers from the navy and Israel Security Services (Shin Bet) confront a terror cell and kill five terrorists, the IDF reported. 

The cell, which had been under surveillance for half a year, was intercepted by Israeli forces just as they were allegedly planning another major terrorist act. The confrontation erupted late Thursday evening in a densely populated residential area where terrorists were using civilian cover to evade capture.

The intense firefight, which lasted more than 12 hours, resulted in the critical injury of an elite IDF commando. Medical teams at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva are currently battling to save his life. The operation was led by Menashe Brigade Commander Ayoub Kayouf, involving stealth tactics that aimed to surprise and quickly apprehend the terrorists with minimal civilian involvement and collateral damage.

According to the report, the IDF raided the village of Deir al-Ghusun in the Tulkarm area, targeting the terrorists who carried out the attack last November near the town of Beit Lid on Highway 557, where Elhanan Klein, a father of three from Enav, was killed on his way back from reserve duty.

The terrorists also carried out a terror attack on April 7, 2024, near the Nabi Elias junction in the West Bank, in which two Israelis were wounded, among whom was a female soldier.

The military said the four terrorists who were killed were Adnan Taisir Kamal Samara, a Hamas terrorist from Tulkarm who had previously been imprisoned for being involved with Hamas.

An additional terrorist was Alaa Adib Abed Aljaber Sharitakh, a Hamas terrorist who had been imprisoned for 14 years due to his involvement in terrorist activity. 

The IDF further stated it had eliminated Tamer Abed Allatif Rajeh Rajeh, a Hamas terrorist from the twon of Shuweika and Asal Bashir Taufik Badran a terrorist belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) from the town of Deir al-Ghusun who had been imprisoned in the past for being involved in terrorist activity. 

The military noted that in the past few months, additional collaborators had been arrested and had confessed to being involved in the attacks, funded by Hamas.

Despite stall in Gaza, IDF continues West Bank operations 

The terrorists barricaded themselves inside a house and opened fire on the soldiers. IDF soldiers responded by opening fire and using shoulder-fired missiles, as well as a remotely piloted aircraft, to attack the building. Finally, five terrorists were eliminated.

Additionally, five wanted individuals were arrested in the nearby village of Sebastia near Nablus.

More than 600 parents of IDF combat soldiers from a variety of units who have been on the front since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war sent a letter on Saturday to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi demanding the army not enter Rafah. 

The letter was sent earlier this week to Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, members of the war cabinet.

The letter stated, "According to media publications by various experts and in general, entering Rafah could be nothing less than a death trap for our soldiers. Anyone with common sense understands that when you have been announcing and warning for months about entering Rafah, some are working to prepare the ground and harm the troops there."

Fears that entering Rafah led by political considerations 

"Unfortunately, and we say this with all our might, we no longer trust you! Some of the events and incidents that took place during the fighting cost the lives of soldiers and harmed their health, were not dictated by reality, and at least some of them were caused by political considerations."

An IDF soldier operates in the Gaza Strip. May 4, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

"See, for example, the Hamed neighborhood incidents. We will not elaborate here. Have you stopped to ask yourself who it serves and why it is right to enter at this time? There is simply no other word for it," the letter concluded. 

National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi revealed on Saturday evening in an interview on Channel 12 that the IDF was very close to eliminating Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. 

"This man is on borrowed time, and it requires patience. The Americans waited ten years for bin Laden, and I'm sure our moment will come and won't be that long," Hanegbi stated. 

"He escapes from tunnel to tunnel. We were close to him, some say even very close. We missed him by less than a few days. He will not get out of this confrontation alive; his fate is sealed." 

The IDF attacked terrorist targets and military structures belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon throughout Saturday, the IDF reported. 

Israel Air Force fighter jets attacked a Hezbollah military structure in the area of Tayr Harfa. The IDF also fired against threats using artillery in the areas of Naqoura, Hanine, and Matmoura. Additionally, a tank fired at a military structure in the area of Kafr Kila, where terrorist activity was detected. 

Earlier on Saturday, an anti-tank missile launch was detected in the Shtula and Hermon areas, with IDF responding by attacking the sources of fire. 

This is a developing story.