Israel-Hamas War: What happened on Day 281?

Negotiations on a hostage release-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas have stalled, according to the Arab Affairs editor at army radio, despite US President Joe Biden claiming that Hamas and Israel had agreed on a basic framework for the agreement.

A Hamas source told Reuters, "The attack on Khan Yunis shows that Israel is not interested in reaching a ceasefire agreement."

However, despite Hamas laying the blame for another failed deal on the strike, "A foreign source familiar with the talks confirms to @GLZRadio in response to Hamas's claim: there are no real negotiations - the contacts stalled even before the assassination attempt" the reporter posted on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after Israel announced it conducted a major strike on Hamas leader Mohammed Deif.

Rocket sirens sounded in northern Israel on Saturday afternoon.

Mohammad Deif, the leader of the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, was targeted in an airstrike in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza, Israel's Army Radio reported on Saturday.

It is unclear if Deif was hit in the strike, and his current status is unknown. 

Israeli media reported that Rafa Salama, the commander of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade, was also a target of the Israeli strike.

An Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft struck a paraglider storage facility in Rafah, the IDF stated on Saturday morning.

According to the military, the facility was used by Hamas's Aerial Defense Unit in Rafah and had held paragliders used during the terror organization's rampage through southern Israel on October 7 of last year.

In other operational activities in the southern Gazan city over the previous day, Israeli troops worked to destroy numerous subterranean tunnel shafts and killed a number of terrorists, the IDF added.

Argentina has officially designated Hamas as a terrorist organization on Friday, the Office of President Javier Milei announced.

"Hamas's link with the Islamic Republic of Iran has been extensively revealed - whose leadership was found responsible for the attacks against the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and against the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association by the Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation on April 11."

French news agency AFP reported on Friday that Husam Badran, a member of Hamas's political bureau, had stated some commitment to ceasing rule over Gaza following the war.

Badran reportedly said that Hamas proposed during ceasefire talks that, following the war, an independent, non-partisan government would manage the Gaza Strip and Palestinian territories.

"We proposed that a government with national authority, not affiliated with any party, would manage Gaza and the West Bank after the war," Badran said about the negotiations. 

A recent poll conducted by Channel 12 news revealed that most of the Israeli public believes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resign, either imminently or at the end of the war.

According to Channel 12's poll, 44% of respondents believe that Netanyahu should resign immediately, while an additional 28% think he should resign after the war. This combined figure indicates that 72% of the public supports his resignation now or after the war ends. 

In contrast, 22% of those surveyed by Channel 12 believe that Netanyahu should remain in office. Even among Netanyahu's supporters, opinions are divided, with 50% agreeing he should resign immediately or post-war, while 42% feel he should not.

Hossam Mansour, a platoon commander in Hamas' Internal Security Forces, was eliminated, the IDF announced Saturday.

Hossam was an operative of Hamas' military wing, previously held a significant role in the Internal Security Forces, and took a substantial part in preserving and perpetuating Hamas' terror activities throughout the Gaza Strip.

Mansour was also one of the managers of the "Al-Khair" Foundation, which transferred funds to the terrorist organization under the guise of humanitarian activity, the IDF stated.

It is not easy for Andrey Kozlov to speak about the long period he spent in Hamas captivity. The memories are both fresh and painful. Only a month after he was rescued in an operation by security forces, the freed hostage decided that he had no choice but to share everything he had been through - he owed it to those who were left behind.

In his first interview with Walla, he described this week the terror he felt on October 7, the mental and physical abuse he went through, what kept him going during the eight months in Gaza, how he learned of the developments of the war and various ceasefire deals and how he was left disappointed every time. Now, he demands the government do everything possible to return the remaining 120 hostages.

Kozlov still hasn’t digested his return to freedom. "Coming home is the best feeling I've felt in my life. It's the greatest gift. I pinch myself every day to understand if I'm dreaming," he admitted, laughing. "I'm probably not."

The IDF Aerial Defense Array, in cooperation with Israel Air Force fighter jets, successfully intercepted two suspicious aerial targets that approached the Shchoret Industrial Zone in Eilat from the east, the IDF announced Saturday.

The sirens regarding rockets and missiles sounded due to the danger of falling shrapnel from the interceptors. No injuries were reported, the IDF noted.