New phase of 'Northern Command war preparations' completed, Israel says: Day 184

Thank you for following our live updates today. We'll be back tomorrow morning with all the latest from Gaza, south Lebanon and the wider region.

The World Health Organization’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said, “The deaths and grievous injuries of thousands of children in Gaza will remain a stain on all of humanity.”

“This assault on present and future generations must end. The denial of basic needs — food, fuel, sanitation, shelter, security and healthcare — is inhumane and intolerable,” he said in a post on X.

The WHO chief also said that the Hamas Oct. 7 attack “does not justify the horrific ongoing bombardment, siege and health system demolition by Israel in Gaza, killing, injuring and starving hundreds of thousands of civilians, including aid workers.”

US forces destroyed a mobile surface-to air missile system in a Houthi-controlled territory of Yemen on April 6, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said today, Reuters reports.

US forces also shot down one unmanned aerial vehicle over the Red Sea, its statement said, adding that a coalition vessel also detected, engaged and destroyed one inbound anti-ship missile. No injuries or damage were reported.

The Israeli military says it hit a compound belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in southern Lebanon.

In a situational update published on Telegram, the Israeli army said its fighters hit a “military compound which contained seven military structures” belonging to Hezbollah fighters in the area of Khiam.

It added that it “struck a military command center belonging to Hezbollah in the area of Toura.”

⚡️ The Israeli military says it has completed another stage in preparing for possible war on its northern front with Lebanon and Syria, Reuters reports

"Over the past few days, another phase of the Northern Command's readiness for war was completed, centering on operational emergency storages for a broad mobilization of IDF troops when required," the military said in a statement titled: "Readiness for the Transition from Defense to Offense."

The Israeli military says it has completed another stage in preparing for possible war on its northern front with Lebanon and Syria, Reuters reports

"Over the past few days, another phase of the Northern Command's readiness for war was completed, centering on operational emergency storages for a broad mobilization of IDF troops when required," the military said in a statement titled: "Readiness for the Transition from Defense to Offense."

In the last hour, Hezbollah announced that at 4.10 p.m. it targeted "a renovated military complex" with Israeli soldiers and aircraft present at the Samaka site in the Kfar Shuba heights, using a suicide drone.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has held talks in Muscat with an official from Yemen's Houthi rebels and reaffirmed Tehran's support for the attacks carried out by the Houthis against ships in the Red Sea, AFP reports.

Amir-Abdollahian's visit to Oman is the first stage of a "regional tour," the Foreign Ministry said, without specifying which other countries would be visited. The Syrian pro-government newspaper al-Watan reported on Sunday that Amir-Abdollahian would travel to Damascus on Monday for an official visit.

Image: (Credit: Iran's Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters)

The Israeli military's troop reduction in the southern Gaza Strip appears to be a "rest and refit" and not necessarily indicative of any new operations, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said in an ABC News interview on Sunday, Reuters reports.

"As we understand it, and through their public announcements, it is really just about rest and refit for these troops … and not necessarily that we can tell indicative of some coming new operation for these troops," Kirby said when asked about the step.

The Israeli military said earlier its troop reduction in south Gaza leaves just one brigade there, six months after the start of the Israeli offensive following Palestinian Islamist group Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Developments in south Lebanon over the last two hours:

* Israeli aircraft bombed Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), residents cited by our correspondent reported.

Yemen's Houthi forces have claimed responsibility for launching rockets and drones targeting a British ship and two Israeli vessels that were heading to Israeli ports, as well as a number of US frigates in the Red Sea, Reuters reports.

The operations took place during the last 72 hours, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement.

Image: Palestinians who had taken refuge in Rafah, leave the city to return to Khan Younis after Israel pulled its ground forces out of the southern Gaza Strip, on April 7, 2024, six months into the devastating war sparked by the Oct. 7 attacks. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)

World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres has raised questions over the Israeli probe into a strike that killed seven of his staff in Gaza, and warned that the conflict had become a "war against humanity itself," AFP reports.

"I want to thank, obviously, the IDF [Israeli army], for doing such a quick investigation," the head of the US-based charity told ABC's "This Week."

"At the same time, I would say with something so complicated, the investigation should be much more deeper," he added. "And I would say that the perpetrator cannot be investigating himself."

➡️ Click here for more.

An Israeli delegation will take part in the latest round of negotiations in Cairo aimed at reaching a truce in the Gaza conflict and a hostage release deal, an Israeli government official says, Reuters reports.

Two more ships have been targeted off Yemen, British maritime security firm Ambrey says, raising to three the number of incidents reported in under 24 hours, AFP reports.

The attacks were not immediately claimed, but they coincide with a campaign by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis against ships the rebels say are linked to Israel amid the Gaza war.

Ambrey said "a vessel was targeted … southwest of Mukalla," a Yemeni port city, without clarifying if it was hit.

It was the second attack Ambrey reported on Sunday. Earlier, it said a projectile fell near a ship southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden.

➡️ More details here.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel will not agree to a cease-fire in Gaza until the hostages being held in the enclave are released, Reuters reports.

His comments, made at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting, come as a new round of truce talks in Egypt is set to begin.

Netanyahu said that despite growing international pressure, Israel would not give in to "extreme" demands from Gaza's Islamist rulers, Hamas, which sparked the war on Oct. 7 with its deadly attack on southern Israel.

Here are the latest developments in southern Lebanon:

* Israeli artillery has heavily bombarded Houla and the surrounding area (Marjayoun caza) in the Wadi Dalafa region, residents tell our correspondent. An Israeli drone fired two missiles at the area. Around 10 shells also fell near the Houla school, the residents added.

* Israeli warplanes struck an area between Jannata, Taoura and Deir Qanoun to the east of Sour, a security source told our correspondent. A three-story house was targeted and completely destroyed, and no casualties have yet been reported.

* The Israeli air force attacked an area near Berghoz (Hasbaya) three times with several missiles, according to a security source.

* Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack carried out at 1.45 p.m. on an Israeli artillery storage site near the Manara site, opposite Houla.

⚡ The Israeli army and an Israeli military official have also confirmed to AFP that Israel has withdrawn its troops from the south of the Gaza Strip, in particular from the town of Khan Younis, after months of fighting against Hamas.

"Today, Sunday 7 April, the Israeli army's 98th commando division completed its mission in Khan Younis. The division left the Gaza Strip in order … to prepare for future operations," the army said in a statement sent to AFP. Asked whether this meant that all the troops had left the southern Gaza Strip, a military official replied "yes."

The United Kingdom will deploy a Royal Navy ship to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza via the humanitarian corridor from Cyprus, the British government announced, AFP reports.

The ship "is en route to the Eastern Mediterranean to support international efforts to deliver vital aid to Gaza," Defense Minister Grant Shapps said in a statement.

It will “support the establishment of the international humanitarian maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, supported by several of our partners and by the United Nations,” added Foreign Minister David Cameron.

Hezbollah said that in response to the Israeli attacks against the Bekaa, it targeted the "headquarters of the air and missile defense in the Keila barracks [in the Golan heights] at 11:10 a.m. The [Israeli] missile and artillery base in Yoav was also targeted with dozens of Katyusha rockets."

A senior Iranian official said today that none of Israel's embassies is safe anymore, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The official, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, was speaking following a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 for which Tehran has vowed retaliation.

Gaza casualty toll update: 33,175 Palestinians have been killed and 75,886 injured in Israel's military offensive on the enclave since Oct. 7, Reuters reports, citing the Gaza Health Ministry. 

⚡ The Israeli military has withdrawn all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip except for one brigade, Reuters is reporting, citing a military spokesperson. The news agency adds that the military did not immediately provide further details.

Meanwhile, here's what has been happening in Gaza:

A statement released by Hamas’s military wing says its fighters ambushed three Israeli tanks in az-Zanna area, in the east of Khan Younis city.

"The district has been under heavy bombardment and artillery shelling for the past month. People who managed to get there and inspect it report about 95 percent of residential buildings, infrastructure, and public facilities have been – not partially or severely – but completely destroyed," Hani Mahmoud, Al Jazeera's correspondent from Rafah, southern Gaza, reported.

The Qassam Brigades says it killed nine soldiers in the az-Zanna ambush and four more in a separate attack. The Israeli army issued a statement saying four of its soldiers were killed in Gaza on Saturday.

"The Israeli military is operating in the western part of Khan Younis, specifically in al-Amal neighborhood and within al-Amal Hospital, where extreme fighting is ongoing. Civil defense crews and witnesses say civilians are trapped in the area," according to the Al Jazeera correspondent, Mahmoud.

Here's an update on the security situation in southern Lebanon and northern Israel this morning:

* Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of the village of Berghoz (Hasbaya district), a security source told our correspondent in south Lebanon.

* The Israeli army meanwhile claims that 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel, falling into open areas without causing damage or casualties, Haaretz reports, adding that the Israeli army "retaliated" toward the sources of the launches. 

*Israeli artillery shelling has targeted population centers in the Wadi Litani Valley (Bint Jbeil district), on the eastern slopes of Qal'at al-Shaqif (Nabatieh district), and the northern outskirts of Deir Mimas (Marjayoun district), local residents tell L'Orient Today.

The Israeli army claims it attacked "three terrorist infrastructures of Hezbollah's air defense unit" near Baalbeck last night, its Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on X.

The night-time attack that hit the Bekaa came in response to Hezbollah's shooting down of an Israeli drone yesterday, the spokesperson said. He added that Israel also targeted other infrastructure in Aita al-Shaab and Adaisseh, in southern Lebanon.

Israel's defense minister says that preparations have been completed to handle any scenario that may develop with its foe Iran, Reuters reports.

Yoav Gallant's office made the statement after he held an "operational situation assessment" with senior military officers.

"Upon completing the assessment, Minister Gallant emphasized that the defense establishment has completed preparations for responses in the event of any scenario that may develop vis-à-vis Iran," his office said

"Over the past six months, the people of #Gaza have endured unfathomable suffering," the UN's humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, Jamie McGoldrick, said as the Gaza war enters its seventh month. "The situation is simply catastrophic," he added.

McGoldrick, however, added that "in recent days, Israel has acknowledged the immense scale of suffering in Gaza and its ability to facilitate the increase of humanitarian assistance to people in need. This is a welcome development."

Israel has committed to establishing "a better functioning coordination cell" linking humanitarians directly with the Israeli military's southern command, temporarily opening Erez Crossing (Beit Hanoon) to move essential supplies from Ashdod port, and increasing "the number of trucks entering through the Allenby Bridge crossing towards Gaza from 25 to at least 50 per day."

Additionally, Israel intends to expand operating hours at Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) and Nitsana crossings, deploy "additional scanner and staff capacity" at Kerem Shalom crossing, and approve the activation of "20 bakeries in north Gaza" along with the restart of the Nahal Oz water line. These measures aim to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and provide aid to the affected population.

A missile has landed near a vessel in the Gulf of Aden, 59 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says. No no damage to the ship or injuries to the crew have been reported in the incident.

➡️ More details here.

Late yesterday evening, a woman, Alia Abdel Karim, succumbed to injuries sustained in a drone strike on Yarin on Tuesday, according to a medical source and the Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA).

According to local sources quoted earlier this week by our correspondent in the region, the victim lived in Boustan, a locality close to Yarine, where he had gone to visit the graves of her parents ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Two Israeli strikes on the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon followed at around 1 a.m., according to information from security sources reported by our correspondent Sarah Abdallah.

The first was aimed at the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, targeting an area between Janta (Baalbeck district) and the Syrian border. The second targeted a Sefri warehouse near Baalbeck. This locality was previously the target of a strike in March.

Hezbollah also announced that it shot down a Hermes 900 Israeli "armed" drone at 8.50 p.m.

The Hermes 900 is a reconnaissance drone manufactured by the Israeli company Elbit Systems.

The Israeli army acknowledged on X that "a ground-to-air missile targeted an air force drone, which was in Lebanese airspace," causing it to fall "into Lebanese territory." The incident is being investigated, according to a message on X from the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson, Avichay Adraee.

In Lebanon, strikes continued overnight:

* At 6.15 p.m. yesterday evening, Hezbollah announced that it had targeted the "Jardah" site opposite Dhairah (Sour district) with a Burkan missile, marking the 9th attack of the day. Earlier, Hezbollah said that it targeted a "drone jamming system" at the al-Assi Israeli site with a drone at 4:10 p.m. and that it hit the Zebdine barracks in the disputed Shebaa farms with missile weapons at 5:05 p.m.

* Israeli artillery fire targeted the outskirts of Zebqine (Sour), according to local residents.

* Israeli warplanes fired several missiles towards a house in Adaisseh (Marjayoun), according to a security source.

* Machine-gun and artillery fire targeted Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), according to residents.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu is facing increased pressure in Israel. Last night, large anti-Netanyahu demonstrations took place in Tel Aviv and other Israeli towns to call for his resignation, early parliamentary elections and an agreement on the hostages, who have been held in Gaza for six months now.

Israeli President Issac Herzog said yesterday that the Israeli army is fighting a "difficult war" to bring back all the hostages. He added that a commemoration of the six months since the Hamas attack would take place on Sunday at 06:29 local time (03:29 GMT). In addition, the leader of the Israeli opposition, Yair Lapid, left yesterday for Washington, where he will meet senior American leaders, against a backdrop of tensions over Netanyahu's conduct of the war.

Image: Relatives of hostages and demonstrators at an anti-Netanyahu rally in Tel Aviv on April 6, 2024. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)

US President Joe Biden has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to reach an agreement on the hostages" kidnapped during the Hamas attack. He also asked Qatar and Egypt, the mediators with the United States, "to get Hamas to commit to accepting an agreement," according to a senior US official speaking on condition of anonymity.

Hamas, which confirmed the departure of its delegation for Cairo on Sunday, said yesterday that it would not give up its demands for a truce, including "a complete cease-fire," an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the return of displaced persons, and a "serious" agreement to exchange Palestinian hostages and prisoners held by Israel.

According to US media reports, CIA chief Bill Burns is in Cairo this weekend to meet Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea, as well as Egyptian and Qatari officials. The White House has confirmed that talks are taking place. Israeli and Hamas delegations will be in the Egyptian capital today, along with Burns and the Qatari foreign minister, the pro-government Egyptian media outlet Al-Qahera News reported yesterday.

As the war enters its seventh month, negotiators from the United States, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and Hamas are due to meet in Cairo to again attempt to reach a truce agreement and hostage release deal.

Since the war began on Oct. 7, Israeli attacks have claimed 33,137 lives in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and caused a humanitarian disaster, with most of the enclave's 2.4 million inhabitants now threatened with starvation, according to the UN.

Good morning,

Today, the 184th day of the war in the Gaza Strip, marks six months of a devastating Israeli offensive in the enclave and half a year since the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel. It is also the 183rd day since Hezbollah opened a "support" front in southern Lebanon, engaging in daily cross-border exchanges of fire with the Israeli army.

We'll be here throughout the day with live updates from Gaza, south Lebanon and the wider region.