KEY POINTS
- Ministers allegedly "personally" attacked the IDF chief during cabinet meeting
- Blinken due to visit Israel as Middle East tensions reach risky levels
- Israeli army operates in Al-Bureij camp and Khan Yunis
It's the 91st day of the war in Gaza, and the Iraqi government announced that it will form a committee to pursue efforts in "permanently" shutting down the U.S.-led international coalition's mission in Iraq -- a day after an Iraqi militia commander was killed in a U.S. strike in Baghdad.
The blasts in Iran during the commemoration of top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani's fourth death anniversary on Wednesday continue to stoke fears of a wider Middle East conflict. Islamic State on Thursday claimed responsibility for the explosions that killed scores of Iranians.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it eliminated a senior official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a Hamas ally, two days after the assassination of Hamas' deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanese territory.
- Israel's ambassador to Spain will fly back to Madrid next week: Foreign ministry
- IDF shuts Salah al-Din evacuation passage, opens one at Al-Rashid
- 3 Israeli citizens missing since Oct. 7 now 'recognized' as hostages: IDF
- Hostage count climbs to 136: Israeli army
- British lawyer specializing in territorial disputes to represent Israel at ICJ: Local media
- IRGC chief says Islamic State 'agents for' US, Israel
- IDF attacks Hezbollah sites in two southern Lebanon villages
- EU's Josep Borrell to visit Lebanon amid tensions at Israeli-Lebanese border
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night said he was seeking a "fundamental change" on the northern border with Lebanon after Iran-backed Hezbollah vowed that Arouri's killing would not go unanswered.
In the Houthi-disrupted Red Sea, a drone boat launched by the Yemeni rebel militia that carried explosives detonated in the Red Sea Thursday, as per a senior U.S. military officer.
Back in the Gaza Strip, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant presented a proposal that says Palestinians would be responsible for the enclave's civil affairs after the war. His after-war proposal comes amid mounting international criticism over the call of two Israeli ministers for voluntary Palestinian migration.
The migration of Palestinians is a sticking point in the violent Israel-Palestine conflict history that blew up on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants invaded Israel in a surprise attack that killed more than 1,200 people.
During the Oct. 7 massacre, Hamas operatives took more than 200 individuals hostage, of which more than 130 are still being held in the Gaza Strip.
The live update has ended.
Iraq to establish committee in preparation for 'permanent' end of US-led mission
The Iraqi government will establish a bilateral committee that will focus on efforts to "permanently" end the U.S.-led international coalition in Iraq, according to a Friday statement from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office.
An Iraqi government official said the committee will include representatives of the military coalition, as per Reuters. "We stress our firm position in ending the existence of the international coalition after the justifications for its existence have ended," Sudani said according to the statement.
The news comes day after a U.S. attack killed a commander of the pro-Iran militia Al-Nujaba movement in Baghdad Thursday.
