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Gaza
The Israeli army announced it had destroyed a 1.2-kilometer-long tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip. According to the army, weapons — including an anti-tank missile launcher — were found nearby.
The army also claimed to have killed several fighters who had planted explosive devices, in a drone strike.
Iran/United States
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, met with military officials and urged them to maintain “maximum readiness” and to use “cyber and hardware tools” to fulfill their national duty, during an event marking the Persian New Year today, according to the state news agency.
Israel/Palestine
The Israeli army reported today that a projectile was fired from Yemen, while warning sirens briefly sounded in Jerusalem, followed by distant booms, according to AFP journalists.
“Sirens sounded in several areas in Israel following the launch of a projectile from Yemen. Details are currently under review,” the army said in a statement.
Syria
A powerful armed group that controls the Deraa region in southern Syria announced its dissolution today and its integration into the Syrian Ministry of Defense, according to a statement read by its spokesperson.
“We, the officers, soldiers, and members of what was known as the 8th Brigade, officially announce the complete dissolution of this formation and the transfer of all its military and human resources to the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian Arab Republic,” declared Colonel Mohamed al-Hourani in a video statement released by the group, which has no Islamist affiliation and is led by Ahmad al-Awda.
Gaza
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, in his first interview since being confirmed by the Senate, said on Fox News that his main mission would be to “help Israel free the hostages,” according to Haaretz.
“The president has been very clear: he wants all these hostages released,” he said. “That is the number one priority when I arrive in Israel later this week,” he added.
Mike Huckabee credited the return of hostages to President Trump. “Hamas understood that Donald Trump is not Joe Biden, and that this wasn’t a schizophrenic administrative approach to the Middle East,” he added.
He also stated that the United States would not accept Iran possessing nuclear weapons, amid ongoing negotiations between the two countries in Oman. “This is not a negotiation about the level of nuclear armament they will have. They will have none, and the president has been explicit about that,” he said.
“They have to decide: do they want to be part of a world in which they can live in peace, or do they want to continue what they’ve been doing for 45 years, shouting ‘Death to America’?” he asked.
Occupied West Bank
Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in Khirbet Lahlaweh, located in the Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Two girls were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment, Wafa reported. The agency also stated that Israeli soldiers arrested at least five Palestinians who tried to defend their children from the attacks.
Gaza
Hezbollah condemned the Israeli bombing of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, which resulted in its destruction and forced the evacuation of patients and civilians.
“This attack is a blatant war crime that highlights the brutal and criminal nature of the Zionist enemy,” the party said in a statement.
“The repeated targeting of hospitals and medical personnel is part of an ongoing campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people, with the unlimited support of the United States,” Hezbollah added.
“Hezbollah urges international and humanitarian organizations to condemn this aggression, protect civilians and medical facilities in Gaza, and act urgently to end the ongoing atrocities,” the party concluded.
Gaza
The Israeli army announced today the interception of a projectile fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israeli territory, stating that no casualties were reported.
“Following sirens that sounded at 3:58 p.m. in Re'im, a projectile identified as heading toward Israeli territory from Gaza was intercepted” by the Israeli Air Force, the army said in a statement. “No injuries were reported,” it added.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Al-Quds Brigades of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said they had fired projectiles at an Israeli army command post in an area north of Rafah recently occupied by the Israeli army, Haaretz reported.
“We fired 107 mm rockets at a command and control post used by the Zionist enemy,” the statement said, adding that the rockets were aimed at the Yibna refugee camp, north of Rafah.
Earlier in the day, the group also said it had fired 60 mm mortar shells at a group of Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in the Morag corridor, linking Rafah to Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Gaza
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued a warning on X to residents of several neighborhoods in Khan Younis to evacuate to the North “before the attack.”
Gaza
The caregiver whose fate was unknown after deadly Israeli gunfire on Palestinian rescuers on March 23 is being held by Israeli authorities, the Palestinian Red Crescent announced today.
In a statement, the Red Crescent said it was informed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that Asaad Al-Nsasrah is “detained by Israeli authorities.” The shooting, carried out by Israeli soldiers, killed 15 rescue workers. (AFP)
Gaza
The British Foreign Minister, David Lammy, stated that Israeli attacks on medical infrastructure in Gaza are “deplorable” and must stop, according to Reuters.
Egypt/Qatar
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Doha today ahead of his meeting with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar.
The two leaders are expected to discuss, among other issues, the Palestinian cause and efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Following his visit to Qatar, the Egyptian president will travel to other Gulf countries, including Kuwait.
Gaza
This afternoon, Hamas denied having a command and control center inside Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, accusing the Israeli army of “repeating its lies” to “justify its savage crimes,” Haaretz reports.
“The statement released by the terrorist occupation army after its illegal bombing of Al-Ahli Hospital — which rendered it out of service — claiming it was used by the movement for military purposes, is a blatant reaffirmation of the occupation’s lies,” Hamas said.
According to the group, the claim aims to “justify [Israel’s] savage crimes against displaced persons, civilians, and hospitals in general, as was the case with Al-Shifa Hospital and other medical centers.”
Hamas described Israel’s conduct as “barbaric,” saying it “reflects blatant disregard for international public opinion, the rule of law, and international justice instruments.”
Israel’s actions, it added, “require the international community and its institutions to take a firm stance to deter the war criminals leading the terrorist occupation and bring them to justice.”
Gaza
Qatar has condemned the Israeli strike on the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza as a “horrific massacre and heinous crime against civilians,” calling it a grave violation of international humanitarian law, according to a statement.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system and the expansion of violence across the region. It called on the international community to take responsibility for protecting civilians and reaffirmed Qatar’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Gaza
“Palestine resists,” chanted several thousand demonstrators in Rabat today during a rally to express solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip and to call for an end to the normalization of diplomatic ties between Morocco and Israel.
Despite heavy rain, protesters marched through the streets of the capital at the call of the “National Action Group for Palestine,” a coalition of several political organizations, including the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).
“Moroccans stand with Gaza,” said the director of a private school in Rabat, who wished to remain anonymous. “They want to show that they have no connection to normalization.”
This latest demonstration comes a week after a similarly well-attended protest and reflects a growing wave of mobilization in the country since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18 against the Islamist movement Hamas, following a two-month truce in Gaza. More than 1,570 Palestinians have been killed since that date, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Gaza
In Deir al-Balah (central Gaza), seven Palestinians — including six brothers — were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle, according to the Civil Defense. According to a witness, Mahmoud Abu Amsha, the brothers had gone out in their car to assist local residents, and a young girl was also hit, AFP reports.
“They don’t care about the children and people being killed,” he said, referring to the Israeli army. The six brothers “had gone out to fulfill their humanitarian mission — no rifles, no weapons, no rockets,” lamented Abu Issa, a prayer leader. “They carried nothing but their souls,” he added.
Syria
Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa traveled to the United Arab Emirates today, marking his first official visit to the country since coming to power. Sharaa was accompanied by his Foreign Minister, Assaad al-Chaibani, according to the official Syrian news agency Sana.
On X, Chaibani — who had visited Abu Dhabi in January — posted a photo of himself alongside the president aboard the plane, stating that they were heading to the Emirates to “strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and cooperation […] and consolidate historic ties” between the two nations. Ahmad al-Sharaa, leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led the coalition of radical Islamist rebels that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8.
Gaza
The Health Minister in Gaza stated that the bodies of 11 people had been transported to the hospitals in the enclave over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths since the beginning of the war to at least 50,944.
He also reported a total of 116,156 injuries since Oct. 7, 2023.
United States / Iran
Iran, which held rare talks with the United States yesterday, will continue discussions in an “indirect” manner, still under the mediation of the Sultanate of Oman, said Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghai today.
“The negotiations will continue to be indirect, and Oman will continue to be the mediator,” Baghai told state television, specifying that “the only subject of the discussions will be the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.”
Iran and the United States agreed to continue talks on Saturday, April 19.
Gaza
The General Directorate of Gaza Police confirmed that Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed Ahmed al-Darbachi, head of the West Khan Younis police station, was killed by an Israeli strike on the city located in the southern part of the enclave, reports Al Jazeera.
Gaza
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem – representing the Anglican Church in Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon – published a statement today expressing its “dismay” at the Israeli strike that targeted the Baptist Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza just hours earlier, “for the fifth time since the war began,” according to Haaretz.
“The Diocese of Jerusalem strongly condemns today’s missile strikes against the Arab Al-Ahli Hospital, an institution run by the Anglican Church of Jerusalem,” the statement said. According to the statement, the strike caused “collateral damage to surrounding buildings, including Saint Philip’s Church.”
The attack reportedly occurred “barely twenty minutes” after “the Israeli army ordered all patients, staff and displaced persons to evacuate the premises immediately,” the statement added, noting that they “thank God that there were no injuries or deaths” following the bombing — except for “a child, who was already suffering from a head injury and unfortunately died due to the rushed evacuation.”
Iran / United States
Iran and the United States, which held rare nuclear talks yesterday in Oman, are “very close” to reaching an agreement on the content of future negotiations, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
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Gaza
The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza announced overnight from Saturday to Sunday that an airstrike hit the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, with no word yet on possible casualties.
Hamas denounced a “new war crime” perpetrated by “a criminal entity that has violated all humanitarian laws, rules, and norms, under the cover and complicity of the United States.”
This morning, the Israeli army and internal security service Shin Bet released a joint statement claiming the facility housed a “command and control center used by Hamas,” according to Haaretz.
Local sources said the strike destroyed the hospital’s emergency and reception departments.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon.
We will also cover developments in Yemen, Gaza — where Israel is intensifying its air and ground offensive — as well as in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Syria.
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