Israel-Hamas war day 215: What's going on in Gaza?

The Qatari Foreign Ministry condemned on Wednesday Israel's actions in Rafah and called for the international community to intervene, according to Israeli media reports. 

The US military said on Tuesday that Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched three "uncrewed aerial systems" (UAS) from Yemen, but caused no injuries or damage.

A coalition ship successfully engaged one UAS, US Central Command forces successfully engaged the second UAS, and the final UAS crashed in the Gulf of Aden, Central Command said in a statement.

An alleged airstrike on an emergency relief center in south Lebanon, in March 2024, was made using US-manufactured weaponry, according to a Tuesday release from the organization Human Rights Watch (HRW.) 

The strike was reportedly made using Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit and an Israeli-made 500-pound general purpose bomb. 

Some seven aid workers were reportedly killed in the strike, according to HRW.

US Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns will travel to Israel on Wednesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials, a source familiar with his travels told Reuters.

The majority of Jewish Israelis (56%) share the opinion that the release of hostages should be considered Israel’s highest priority, according to a newly published survey by the  Israel Democracy Institute's Viterbi Center for Public Opinion.

The survey was conducted online and by phone between the dates of May 1, 2024 until May 6, 2024. A total of 600 participants were interviewed in Hebrew and 150 were interviewed in Arabic, constituting a nationally representative sample of the entire adult population in Israel aged 18 and over. The maximum sampling error for the entire sample is ±3.65 at a confidence rate of 95%.

On Tuesday, approximately 12 launches were identified originating from the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip towards the Eshkol region. Air defense fighters successfully intercepted five launches, while the rest fell in open areas with no casualties.

Less than an hour later, an Air Force aircraft targeted the launching site used for the launches towards Israeli territory, under the guidance of the 215th Fire Division, and destroyed it.

Additionally, on Tuesday, six launches were identified crossing from the southern Gaza Strip to the Kerem Shalom area. There were no casualties.

Terrorist organization fire prevented the entry of humanitarian aid vehicles to the Strip. The IDF will continue to operate to enable the security conditions for the opening of Kerem Shalom crossing.

A suspicious aerial target was intercepted near Eilat on Tuesday night, however, no sirens were sounded, according to Israeli media.

The extent of Iranian involvement in Hamas's decision to initiate the massacre on October 7 has not yet been fully disclosed - and according to various sources in the Arab media and the Iranian opposition, it is possible that the connection between the Revolutionary Guards and Hamas was even deeper and wider.

Dr. Hassan Hashemian, an Iran expert based in Washington, argued in an interview with the Saudi channel Al-Hadath, "I believe that everything that happened on October 7 was managed and planned during the era of Qasem Soleimani," referring to the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who was killed in an operation attributed to the United States and Israel.