KEY POINTS
- Embattled UNRWA at a "breaking point," says its chief Philippe Lazzarini
- Netanyahu unveils first official day-after Gaza plan
- US base in Syria reportedly suffers drone attack, as per Iranian media
It's the 140th day of the war in Gaza, and as the international community steps up calls for restraint in the devastated enclave, Yemeni Houthi rebels continue to run amok in the Red Sea.
The U.S. has charged four people in relation to the deadly January ship raid in the Arabian Sea. The raid, which was carried out amid suspicion that the ship carried Iranian weapons, resulted in the deaths of two U.S. Navy SEALs.
- Israel strikes Hezbollah infrastructure amid continuing fire exchange near Israeli-Lebanese border
- US downs 3 UAVs near Red Sea commercial ships: CENTCOM
- Hostages' families protest at major Tel Aviv intercity freeway
- Yemenis stage 'million march' in solidarity with Gaza: Houthi spokesperson
- Israeli delegation heads to Paris for truce summit after Cairo talks between Hamas, mediators
- Israeli Navy conducts drills in preparation for possible full-blown northern front war
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said in a televised speech that the rebel militia will add new "submarine weapons" in its arsenal as it expands attacks in the Red Sea. The Yemeni terror group also threatened to shut down commercial shipping at the turbulent Bab El-Mandeb Strait after it claimed a drone attack on a U.S. destroyer.
In Israel's northern border with Lebanon, Hezbollah, one of many paramilitary groups backed by Iran, claimed it attacked a "house" in the Metula area where soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gathered.
Back in Gaza, heavy bombardment has been reported in the southern part of the enclave as world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who has been an ally of Israel since the war started, called on Israel to refrain from launching a ground operation in Rafah unless civilian protection is ensured.
Meanwhile, talks for a new ceasefire deal continue as an Israeli delegation is expected to join negotiations in Paris. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israel was not prepared to "pay any price" for the release of some 130 remaining hostages in Gaza under Hamas' "delusional" demands.
The intense fighting in the Gaza Strip stems from a longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict that ultimately blew up on Oct. 7, when Hamas operatives launched a surprise invasion of Israel, murdering more than a thousand people and abducting some 250 Israelis and foreign nationals.
The live update has ended.
Israeli Navy conducted exercises in preparation for potential northern front war: IDF
The Israeli Navy's missile boats conducted "extensive" drills over the past week in preparation for a potential all-out war with Hezbollah in Israel's northern front, the IDF said in a statement Friday, as per a Google translation.
The report came at around the same time Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said on X that Israel will "not be patient much longer for a diplomatic solution in the north."
Israeli delegation leaves for Paris hostage talks
An Israeli delegation that includes chief of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, David Barnea, and head of the country's security agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, has left for Paris to engage in high-stakes talks for a potential new ceasefire deal.
The news comes after Hamas officials wrapped up negotiations with truce deal mediators in Cairo.
Massive rally in Yemen in solidarity with Gaza: Houthi spokesperson, Yemeni media
A massive crowd took to the Al-Sabeen Square in Yemen's capital of Sana'a Friday to attend a "million march" for "our path with Gaza ... forward until victory," Houthi spokesman Yahya Sare'e wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Yemeni media reported that Friday's rally was a "massive million-man demonstration," and the "largest of its kind." Demonstrators reportedly raised Palestinian and Yemeni flags
International Business Times cannot independently verify the numbers.
Hamas waiting for new truce proposal after Israel weekend talks
Hamas is now waiting for a new ceasefire proposal that Egyptian and Qatari mediators will bring after they discuss with Israel over the weekend, Reuters reported Friday, citing a Hamas official.
The Palestinian militant group held talks with mediators this week in Cairo.
Mediators, in coordination with the U.S., have been pushing Israel and Hamas in recent weeks to reach a ceasefire-hostage deal amid the mounting death toll in Gaza and fears for the fate of some 130 hostages in Hamas captivity.
Hostages' families block Ayalon Highway in hostage release demonstration
The families of remaining hostages in Gaza blocked the Ayalon Highway (Highway 20) in Israel Friday and set up a Shabbat dinner table in calls for more action to free the abductees, multiple local outlets reported.
"20 שבתות בעזה - אין שבת שלום": משפחות חטופים חוסמות את איילון והקימו במקום שולחן שבת מאולתר@OferHalfonKan pic.twitter.com/69ilRs3zzq
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 23, 2024
The highway, which is a major intercity freeway in Tel Aviv's metropolitan Gush Dan, has since been reopened to vehicular traffic as police came in to deliver traffic notices, according to Israel's national broadcaster Kan.
בתום המיצג "השבת האחרונה בלעדיהם" של משפחות חטופים באיילון - המשטרה חילקה דוחות תנועה@OferHalfonKan
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 23, 2024
(צילום: אפרת ספרן) pic.twitter.com/QAhR5Oa2Dy
US strikes Houthi assets, downs 3 UAVs near merchant ships
The U.S. has once again struck Houthi assets in Yemen as the Iran-backed rebel militia continues to threaten commercial shipping activities in the Red Sea.
On Thursday evening, U.S. forces with the Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted "self-defense strikes against four Iranian-backed Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and two mobile anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM)" that were ready to launch from Houthi-held areas of Yemen, the U.S. army said Friday.
Also early on Friday, CENTCOM forces downed three Houthi one-way attack UAVs "near several commercial ships operating in the Red Sea. No damage was reported from the merchant vessels.
Red Sea Update
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 23, 2024
On Feb. 22, at approximately 5 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted self-defense strikes against four Iranian-backed Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and two mobile anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) that were prepared to launch… pic.twitter.com/CzEHK29Ita
Israeli warplanes strike Hezbollah sites in Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets struck several infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon, including "a military building in the Kfar Kila area," the IDF said Friday.
לפני זמן קצר מטוסי קרב תקפו מספר תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב לבונה ומבנה צבאי במרחב כפר כילא, בו פעלו מחבלי הארגון. בנוסף, כוח צה"ל תקף בירי טנק להסרת איום במרחב עייתא א-שעב >> pic.twitter.com/WMLRkqZk7u
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 23, 2024
The strikes came several hours after Hezbollah claimed an attack on a "house" in Metula, a northern Israeli town near the Israel-Lebanon border.
4 charged in connection to US Navy SEALs deadly ship raid
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday it charged four foreign nationals onboard a vessel that U.S. Navy SEALs raided in January, which resulted in the deaths of two Navy SEALs.
The raid was carried out in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 11, targeting a ship suspected of transporting Iranian-made "advanced conventional weaponry."
"The charges resulting from that interdiction make clear that the Justice Department will use every legal authority to hold accountable those who facilitate the flow of weapons from Iran to Houthi rebel forces, Hamas, and other groups that endanger the security of the United States and our allies," the DOJ said in a statement.
Netanyahu's first official day-after plan reiterates Gaza demilitarization before reconstruction: Report
The Israeli prime minister has unveiled the first official post-war Gaza plan, reiterating that Israel will allow reconstruction of the devastated enclave after it is demilitarized, Axios reported.
Under the plan, the IDF has "indefinite" freedom of operation across Gaza and Israel will control the Gaza-Egypt border, in cooperation with Egypt and assistance from its ally, Washington.
Netanyahu also stressed the Gaza's "reconstruction plans will be carried out with the financing and leadership of countries acceptable to Israel." More than four months into the fighting, no country has agreed to finance the Strip's reconstruction.
Many nations have expressed interest in financing Gaza's reconstruction if there is a clear political plan for Palestinians.
US base in Syria targeted by rockets: Iranian media
The American base at the Al-Omar oilfield in Syria was targeted with rockets Thursday night, the Iranian government's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported Friday.
No group has claimed the rocket barrage yet, as per the report.
The U.S. army has yet to deny or confirm the supposed attack, but the said U.S. base was subject to an attack by Iraqi armed factions earlier this month. The said attack killed at least six members of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
UNRWA at 'breaking point': Agency chief
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has reached "a breaking point, with Israel's repeated calls to dismantle it and the freezing of funding by donors at a time of unprecedented humanitarian needs in Gaza."
His statement came following the suspension of funding by some countries, including top donor U.S., after an Israeli exposé alleged that 12 UNRWA employees directly participated in Hamas' Oct. 7 atrocities.
Israel reportedly strikes southern Gaza homes
Israeli air strikes targeted homes in southern Gaza Friday, witnesses said, amid heightening fears over a potential ground raid of Rafah, the overcrowded city in southern Gaza where over a million people have sought shelter since the war started.
Read the full story here.
Hezbollah claims attack targeting northern Israel 'house'
Hezbollah said early Friday that it attacked a "gathering" of IDF soldiers "insider a house in the Metula" area in northern Israel. The Lebanon-based Hamas ally published footage that shows an explosion at what appears to be a residential home after a rocket was launched towards it.
Houthis threaten to 'close' Bal El-Mandeb Strait
Following claims that it attacked a U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea with drones, the Iranian-backed Houthis said Friday that they can completely "close" the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, as per a Google-translated Sky News Arabia report that cited Hussein Al-Ezzi, the Houthi's deputy foreign minister.
Al-Ezzi said the rebel militia has the capability to shut down shipping activity in the Strait but has refrained from doing so as it was "keen on international navigation."
As reported earlier, the terror group's leader said it will include "submarine weapons" in its expanded Red Sea attacks.
Houthi leader announces expansion of weapons arsenal in Red Sea attacks
Al-Houthi on Thursday said the Houthis will add new "submarine weapons" to its arsenal in its continuing attacks against commercial ships and vessels linked to Israel, the U.S., and the UK.
While he did not provide further details about the expansion of its attack arsenal, he said the Iranian-backed terror group's operations in waters in the Middle East were "escalating, and effective," as per a Reuters translation.
Houthis claim 3 attacks on Israel, US destroyer, 'British' commercial ship
The Houthis on Thursday claimed an attack "against a British ship (Islandra) in the Gulf of Aden," launching missiles toward the said merchant vessel. It also said it launched drones and missiles toward Israel's southern port city of Eilat.
Finally, the Yemeni rebel group said it carried out drone attacks on a U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea. The U.S. army has yet to confirm the said claim.
