Iran announces seven members of Revolutionary Guards killed in Israeli strikes on Damascus: Day 178 of the Gaza war

That's it for today's live coverage of the Gaza war and its impact on Lebanon, Syria, the Red Sea, and the region. Thanks for joining us and we'll be back tomorrow with more news updates and analysis. Goodnight!

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of Iran's armed forces that is independent of Iran's regular army, announced that seven of its members, including two commanders, were killed in the allegedly Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus earlier today.

In a statement, the IRGC strongly condemned the attack, confirming that two senior members of the Quds Force, Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, were among the victims.

(Credit: Fars Media Corporation)

Who is Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps official killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus today?

He is believed to be the most senior Iranian representative ever killed on Syrian soil, often accompanying the IRGC Commander-in-Chief on his trips to the Levant.

According to analysts, Zahedi also coordinated for years with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad — being one of the first Iranian Revolutionary Guards sent to Syria to suppress the peaceful revolution of 2011 — and Hezbollah in Lebanon — Beirut was his place of residence, or so Western governments believed.

👉 Read more about Zahedi's role and the consequences of his killing here. 

The latest updates from southern Lebanon:

• The Israeli army reported that it attacked a Hezbollah weapons storage facility and a military facility in southern Lebanon, cited by Haaretz. It was also reported that in recent hours there were several launches from Lebanese territory toward the areas of Mount Dov and Manara and that launching areas were attacked.

• The Israeli army opened fire on the eastern part of the southern Lebanese villages of Hula, Marjayoun district, and Wazzani, in Hasbaya district, residents of the villages told L'Orient Today.

Security forces arrest an Israeli anti-government protester who was blocking a road during a four-day sit-in near the Parliament in Jerusalem on April 1, 2024. (Credit: Menahem Kahana/AFP)

Thousands of Israelis are protesting tonight in Jerusalem, demanding elections be held and calling for a cease-fire deal that would facilitate the return of hostages, Haaretz reports.

Tonight's protests come on the coattails of similar anti-government protests held in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv last night when tens of thousands filled the streets in the largest demonstrations since Oct. 7.

The widow of an Israeli soldier spoke to the crowd on Monday, calling on Knesset members to resign, saying they "have destroyed beyond anything imaginable," and condemning the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

"The destruction and poverty and hunger in Gaza are an atrocity," Noga Friedman said. "And one should not be proud of a moral collapse that celebrates blood, blood, and more blood, in a cycle of revenge that has no end. Woe to the public in which it is forbidden to express human compassion." She also criticized Israeli leadership "whose solution to the violence and humiliation we have experienced is only more and more destruction and power."

👉Read the full report here. 

The White House is "concerned" about a possible ban on Al Jazeera in Israel, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to implement "immediately," following a law that was passed 70-10 in Israeli Parliament earlier this evening.

Responding to a reporter's question regarding the ban, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: "I'm going to refer you back to Israel on what they're considering doing, but ... if it's true, such a decision would be concerning. We believe in freedom of the press."

A reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Ahmad Maqadmeh, was found killed at al-Shifa Hospital on Monday along with his mother, who was also a doctor, said his friend and colleague, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah in an interview with Democracy Now. 

Abu-Sittah, a British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon, spent over a month treating patients at al-Shifa Hospital and al-Ahli Hospital as a volunteer for Doctors Without Borders (MSF). He told Democracy Now that Maqadmeh and his mother had been "executed by the Israeli army while trying to escape Shifa."

👉 Read the full report here.

What we know about the Israeli airstrike on Damascus:

• The air raid targeted the Iranian consulate. An AFP correspondent on the scene confirmed that a building located within the embassy’s compound was completely destroyed by the strike. The embassy was located in Mazzeh, a neighborhood that houses several embassies and United Nations buildings.

• The Syrian Ministry of Defense reported several dead and wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) reported eight deaths in the raid, updated from the original six.

• According to the Iranian news agency Nour, "Hossein Akbari, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, and his family were not injured in the Israeli attack.”

• The strike killed a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps military officer, Mohammad Reza Zahedi. He was the leader of the Lebanon and Syria branch of the Quds Force.

• The Syrian Defense Ministry said in a statement that "the Israeli enemy launched air strikes from the occupied Golan, targeting the Iranian consulate building in Damascus.”

• This was the fifth Israeli raid targeting Syria in the last eight days.

The Israeli parliament has passed a law allowing for foreign media to be banned from the country if it threatens state security, AFP reports. The law is specifically targeting the Qatari news channel Al Jazeera. Netanyahu pushed the Knesset to "immediately act to close Al Jazeera" this morning.

The law, passed by 70 votes to 10, gives the Prime Minister the power to prohibit Al Jazeera from broadcasting its content and the power to force the closure of its offices in Israel.

This is not the first time that measures have been proposed to close down Al Jazeera offices in Israel. On Oct. 20, Israeli media reported that the security Cabinet would be discussing the possibility of making such a ban possible.

An Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus killed eight people, including a senior military officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. Mohammad Reza Zahedi previously commanded the IRGC Air Force and Ground Force and at the time of his death was the leader of the Quds Force for Syria and Lebanon. The Quds Force — one of four branches of the IRGC — is an elite wing specializing in foreign operations and unconventional warfare. His killing was confirmed by the Iranian government. 

Two Iranian advisers and five members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were also killed in the strike, Reuters reports.

Israeli airstrikes have targeted an upscale Damascus neighborhood, according to reports from state media. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported six dead in a raid that targeted an Iranian embassy annex.

"Israeli missiles destroyed the building of an annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing six people," said the UK-based war monitor, which has an extensive network of sources in the country.

Reuters reported that the Damascus airstrike killed a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps — Mohammad Reza Zahedi, citing a Lebanese security source.

An AFP correspondent on the scene confirmed that the embassy annex building had been razed to the ground by the strike.

The incident comes days after the Observatory reported Israeli strikes that killed 53 people in Syria, including 38 soldiers and seven members of Hezbollah.

Updates from the last hour in southern Lebanon:

• The Israeli army struck a house in Hanine, in Bint Jbeil district, a security source told L'Orient Today.

• Hezbollah announced two attacks at 4:10 and 4:20 p.m. against the “Rweisat al-Alam” Israeli position in the disputed Kfar Shuba Hills, which the party considers Lebanese territory.

• Hezbollah announced that it attacked an Israeli technical team at 4:00 p.m. as it was repairing surveillance equipment in the “Baghdadi” Israeli position, located opposite the Lebanese border village of Mais al-Jabal, in Marjayoun district.

Three ships carrying food aid (Jennifer, Open Arms and Ledra Dynamic) are off the coast of Gaza, according to Vessel Finder, a marine geolocation platform that located the cargo ships in this position seven hours ago.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos also told the Associated Press that the three ships had received permission to begin unloading their cargo in the besieged enclave, under an Israeli blockade.

According to the American charity World Central Kitchen, the cargo ships, along with a barge, are carrying enough ready-to-eat products to prepare more than one million meals. This includes rice, pasta, flour, and canned vegetables.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu relaunched moves to close the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera in Israel, declaring through his party's spokesman that Parliament would be convened later this evening to ratify the necessary legislation.

Netanyahu will then take "immediate steps to close the channel, in accordance with the procedure laid down by law," Reuters reports, citing a Likud party statement.

Israel had previously accused the channel of collaborating with Hamas in the Gaza war.

The Gazan Ministry of Health has announced a new death toll of 32,845 in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.

In the span of 24 hours, a further 63 deaths were recorded, according to a statement issued by the ministry, adding that 75,392 people have been wounded in almost six months of war.

The Israeli army said that its jets attacked earlier today ten Hezbollah targets simultaneously, including "a military depot, launching sites and terrorist infrastructure."

L'Orient Today earlier reported that Israel carried out four airstrikes on the outskirts of Rashaya al-Foukhar (Hasbaya) and that artillery shelling targeted the same area.

Reacting to the Israeli recent escalation against Lebanon, Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad said that this "does not change the position of the resistance, its preparations and readiness to defend the [Lebanese] people, land and homeland, whatever the possibilities that lie ahead."

During a memorial ceremony held in the Southern Lebanese village of Souaneh, Fayyad said that this "battle is not an option ... but rather a duty."

"[Israel] has so far lost all its bets, is surrounded by complications, challenges and threats, and is suffering from unprecedented failures and disappointments in its history ... its rush forward is its last bet to get out of the impasse, but we believe that this escalation will worsen its impasse and raise the level of risks threatening [Israel] to extremely dangerous levels.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Jashi speaking during an event commemorating a medic killed in an Israeli strike. (Photo sent by L'Orient Today's correspondent in South Lebanon, Muntasser Abdullah)

Hezbollah MP Hussein Jashi said that the "Israeli threat" to enter Rafah and Lebanon "is a form of obstinacy."

Jashi made his comments during an honorary ceremony held by Hezbollah for paramedic Kamel Shehadeh, killed in an Israeli strike, in the village of Rmadieh (Sour).

He said that Israel is fully aware that it will not be able to "eliminate ... the resistance in Gaza."

"In Lebanon, there are strong men ... who are ready and present in every yard and valley ... [they] are ready to fight and are waiting impatiently for [the Israeli army]", he added.

The United States and Israel are expected to hold a virtual meeting today to discuss the Biden administration's "alternative proposals to an Israeli military invasion of Rafah," four Israeli and US officials told Axios.

The meeting, which was supposed to take place last week, has become "a contentious issue" between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden.

According to senior Israeli officials, holding a virtual meeting is a way for Netanyahu to "save face" and have a discussion with the White House about Rafah "without sending a delegation to Washington."

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to lead the US side in the meeting, with representatives from the Pentagon, State Department and the US intelligence agencies participating.

Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Netanyahu's national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi are going to lead the talks from the Israeli side with senior Israeli defense and intelligence officials participating.

Finally, a senior Israeli official told Axios that a second meeting, in person, is planned to take place as soon as next week.

Israeli police announced that they arrested the sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Sabah Abdel Salam Haniyeh, in southern Israel, as part of a "terrorism" investigation by the police and Shin Bet.

"She is suspected of having contacts with Hamas operatives and identifying herself with the organization while inciting and supporting acts of terrorism in Israel," a police spokesman told AFP.

Here is what happened on the Lebanese-Israeli border this morning:

- ⁠Israel carried out four airstrikes on the outskirts of Rashaya al-Foukhar (Hasbaya).

-⁠ ⁠Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Kfar Hammam and Rashaya al-Foukhar (Hasbaya).

An update on the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border last night:

-⁠ ⁠Between 9 and 10:30 p.m.: Israeli artillery shelling targeted the village of Khiam (Marjayoun) and the outskirts of Wazzani (Hasbaya).

-⁠ ⁠Between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m.: Israel's artillery targeted the village of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun) with 120 mm mortar shells.

- Hezbollah said that it hit an Israeli force that was stationed in Metula, facing the village of Khiam, with artillery shells at 11:10 p.m.

- ⁠At midnight: The southern outskirts of Khiam were subjected to Israeli artillery shelling.

An update on the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border yesterday evening:

Mais al-Jabal: Israel carried out two airstrikes on the village, targeting a house near the al-Baraka square and a house in the vicinity of a mosque in the western neighborhood. Civil Defense members of the al-Risala Scout Association removed debris after the Israeli airstrike and took one injured person to a hospital in the area, according to a statement released by the association.

Blida: Israel bombed the village two times, targeting houses and shops near the square of the village. Civil Defense teams of the al-Risala Scout Association and the Islamic Health Authority removed debris from the road.

Kfar Kila, Tal al-Nahas: An Israeli airstrike destroyed a house belonging to the Tawil family without causing casualties. The bombing damaged the glass of a nearby police station.

The situation remains tense on the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in deadly fighting since Oct. 8.

The Israeli army claimed on Sunday to have killed "an important commander of the anti-tank missile unit" of Hezbollah's Radwan Force. "The air force targeted a car in Kunin driven by saboteur Ismail Ali Zain, an important commander of the anti-tank missile unit" of this elite unit, said the army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee.

This man "was considered a leader of the Radwan Force" and responsible for "numerous sabotage operations" using anti-tank missiles, he added.

Against this backdrop of war, Hamas apologized for the first time to Gazans for the suffering caused by the conflict, in a lengthy statement published Sunday evening on its Telegram channel.

It sent "a message of thanks to the people" of the Gaza Strip, whose "exhaustion" it recognized.

The Palestinian movement also reiterated its determination to continue the war, which it believes will lead to "victory and freedom" for the Palestinians.

A truce agreement between Israel and Hamas remains a long way off, despite calls from international organizations warning of the risk of starvation for the majority of the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip besieged by Israel.

"There is still no question of a new round of negotiations," Hamas official Osama Hamdan said in a statement on Sunday.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu – who underwent "successful" hernia surgery on Sunday evening – has been challenged on the streets for the past two days by tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding his resignation and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The Israeli retaliation offensive continues unabated in the Gaza Strip. The strip was ravaged on Sunday by new Israeli strikes, one of which, according to the UN, targeted a hospital, reports AFP.

According to the director of the WHO, a UN agency, "a camp in the al-Aqsa Hospital compound was hit by an Israeli air strike," killing four people.

The Israeli army announced that 600 of its soldiers had been killed since Oct. 7, including 256 in the Gaza Strip.

According to the army, more than 1,523 soldiers have been wounded in the Palestinian territory since the start of the ground operation.

On Sunday, the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, reported that 21 patients at al-Shifa Hospital had died since the start of the Israeli operation.

According to him, 107 patients remain in the hospital, including four children and 28 patients in critical condition. 

An AFP journalist and local witnesses saw tanks and vehicles leaving the hospital complex, covered by artillery fire and airstrikes.

A doctor told AFP that more than 20 corpses had been recovered. According to him, some of the bodies had been run over by withdrawing military vehicles.

The Israeli army, which accuses Hamas fighters of hiding in hospitals, launched what it described as a "precise operation" against al-Shifa on March 18. Since then, it has claimed to have "eliminated around 200 terrorists" in the area.  

The Gaza Strip's Ministry of Health claimed that the Israeli army had withdrawn its tanks from al-Shifa Hospital and said it had discovered dozens of corpses there.

The Israeli army, which launched a military operation two weeks ago against the hospital complex in Gaza City in the north of the territory, did not immediately confirm the withdrawal.

"Dozens of martyrs' bodies, some in a state of decomposition, were found in and around al-Shifa hospital," said the Gazan Ministry of Health in a statement, adding that material damage to the buildings was "very extensive."

Good morning!

Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the ongoing war in Gaza and its regional and global impact.