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."
