KEY POINTS
- Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan believes Hamas leaders won't move out of Qatar
- Hezbollah expands range of attacks on IDF sites, report says
- Satellite images show tent construction in southern Gaza ahead of Israel's Rafah invasion
The war in Gaza has reached a grim milestone at Day 200 with little to no signs of easing up as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued to shell northern Gaza, marking its most intense offensive in the near-famine region in weeks.
"Nothing" will remain of Israel if it launches a "heavier operation" against Iran, President Ebrahim Raisi vowed Tuesday according to state media. His warning came 10 days after Tehran launched hundreds of drones and missiles toward Israel for the first time.
In the tension-packed northern border, the IDF announced the assassination of two "significant" figures in Iranian-backed Hezbollah's Aerial Unit, one of them a member of the elite Radwan Forces.
- Hezbollah claims attacks on IDF sites around Acre in retaliation for the killing of 2 members
- IDF says reports on mass graves found within Nasser Hospital grounds are 'baseless'
- Hamas leaders will stay in Doha as long as they are useful to ceasefire mediations: Qatar
- Aid workers express worries over IDF's impending Rafah raid
- Israel didn't provide proof of terrorism involving UNRWA staff during review: Independent body
- Israeli fighter jets strike 2 Hezbollah buildings in southern Lebanon
- IDF warns Beit Lahia residents of looming operation, urges evacuation
The Lebanon-based terror group on Tuesday said it attacked three sites of the Israeli army near the Israeli-Lebanese border in the last 24 hours.
Back in war-torn Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war started.
New sanctions on Iran by the European Union are "regrettable," Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said. The sanctions were announced after Iran's massive aerial attacks toward Israel, to which Israel responded with a smaller-scale attack.
Conflict in the Middle East was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. However, the fighting between Israel and Hamas has been ongoing for decades, stemming from the Israel-Palestine conflict that a growing number of global leaders believe could be resolved through a two-state solution.
The live update has ended.
Iran threatens to wipe Israel off map if it launches major attack
Tehran will respond in such a way that "nothing remains of Israel" if it decides to launch a "heavier operation" against Iran, the Iranian president warned Tuesday during an Iranian Army parade speech, state media reported.
IDF urges Beit Lahia residents to evacuate 'dangerous combat zone'
Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF's spokesperson for Arab media, on Tuesday urged residents of parts of Beit Lahia, north of Jabalia, to evacuate the area as they were "in a dangerous combat zone."
"The IDF will work with extreme force against the terrorist infrastructure and subversive elements in the area," he said.
Israeli warplanes strike 2 Hezbollah buildings
Israeli fighter jets on Tuesday struck two paramilitary buildings belonging to Iranian-backed Hezbollah in the areas of Ayta ash-Shab and Bayada in southern Lebanon, the IDF said following reports that the terror group struck Israeli army sites in Acre, northwestern Israel.
מטוסי קרב תקפו לפני זמן קצר שני מבנים צבאיים בהם שהו מחבלים במרחבים עייתא א-שעב ובליידא שבדרום לבנון. בנוסף, מטוסי קרב תקפו מבנים צבאיים נוספים במרחב מרכבא שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/e0H8RZqCfH
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 23, 2024
'Neutrality' issues found at embattled UNRWA, but Israel hasn't provided proof of terrorism
The independent review group that looked into the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) found that there were "neutrality-related issues" within the agency's system, but it said the Israeli government has not yet provided evidence regarding its allegations that some of the UNRWA's employees were members of terror groups.
Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff of being directly involved in Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre in an exposé in January. Multiple countries, including the U.S., suspended funding to the agency following the revelations. Several nations have since resumed their donations, including Canada and the European Union.
Aid workers raise concerns over impending Rafah raid
Humanitarian aid workers are worried over the looming ground incursion of Rafah by the Israeli army, most especially due to the uncertain timeline at which the raid will be conducted and how long it will last.
"We always are prepared with plans to upscale or downscale, but, really, we don't know what to expect," said Bushra Khalidi, head of advocacy at British NGO confederation Oxfam.
Read the full story here.
Hamas leaders will stay in Gaza while Qatar mediates
Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari on Tuesday said Hamas' political leaders residing in the country will remain as long as their presence was still beneficial to Qatar's mediation efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza.
He also reiterated that a decision regarding Hamas' presence in Doha "will not be taken unless we are finished" with reassessing Qatar's role in mediating for a truce.
Israeli army rejects 'baseless' claims of mass burials in Gaza hospital
The Israeli army on Tuesday said reports that mass graves were unearthed at a hospital in southern Gaza were "baseless," The Times of Israel reported.
The IDF further noted that when it operated at the Nasser Hospital, Israeli troops examined corpses that were buried by Palestinians on the hospital complex "as part of an effort to locate hostages."
"The examinations were carried out in an orderly manner while maintaining the dignity of the deceased and in a respectful manner" and the bodies were "returned to their place in an orderly and proper manner."
Hezbollah claims 'deepest strike' in Israel
Hezbollah on Tuesday claimed it launched a drone attack targeting Israeli army bases north of Acre in northwestern Israel, marking its "deepest strike" yet into Israeli territory since Oct. 7, Reuters reported.
The powerful terror organization and Hamas ally said the strike was conducted in retaliation for the killing of two significant figures in its Aerial Unit, including a member of the elite Radwan unit.
Hezbollah expands range of attacks: Report
Hezbollah has expanded the range of its attacks toward Israeli army sites from 10 km (approximately 6 miles) to 30 km (approximately 18 miles), Sky News in Arabic reported Tuesday.
Satellite photos show tents built near Khan Yunis
Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press on Tuesday appear to show a tent compound near Khan Yunis, southern Gaza's main city.
Israel previously said it was planning to evacuate the Palestinian civilian population from Rafah amid increasing pressure from the Biden administration to draw up a civilian protection plan to ensure that Rafah residents are safe before Israel launches its ground incursion of the overcrowded city.
The IDF said it was not involved in building the tents, as per AP.
IDF publishes footage of key Hezbollah member's assassination
The Israeli army on Tuesday published footage of the airstrike on a vehicle that killed a key terrorist in Hezbollah's Aerial Unit whom it said was "heavily involved" in planning and executing terror attacks against Israelis.
צה״ל תקף וחיסל הבוקר באמצעות כלי טיס של חיל האוויר במרחב דרום לבנון, את חסין עלי עזקול, מחבל מרכזי במערך ההגנה האווירית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 23, 2024
עזקול היה מעורב רבות בפעילות המערך ולקח חלק בתכנון וההוצאה לפועל של מגוון פעילויות טרור>> pic.twitter.com/ePQSOXWwvU
Turkish president believes Hamas leaders won't leave Qatar
Erdogan on Tuesday said he doesn't think Hamas leaders will move out of Qatar as he has seen no signs that the Palestinian terror group had intent to leave the country where its political headquarters is located.
His comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Hamas recently reached out to two regional countries about possibly having its leaders reside there, citing Arab officials. One of the countries was reportedly Oman.
New EU sanctions on Iran 'regrettable': Iranian FM
Amir-Abdollahian on Tuesday took to X to express his disappointment over the sanctions the EU announced against Iran following Tehran's massive aerial attacks toward Israel on Apr. 13.
"It is regrettable to see the EU deciding quickly to approve more unlawful restrictions against Iran just because Iran exercised its right to self-defense in the face of Israel's reckless aggression," he wrote.
Iran's first direct attacks toward Israel were carried out after an Israeli bombardment that targeted the Iranian consulate's annex building in the Syrian capital of Damascus that killed seven Revolutionary Guards members, including a prominent general.
Over 34,000 Palestinians killed since Oct. 7: Hamas-run health ministry
At least 34,183 Palestinians have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war started, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday. More than 77,000 others have also been injured since Israel kicked off its military campaign in the territory, the ministry added.
Hezbollah claims attacks on 3 IDF sites
Iranian-backed Hezbollah on Tuesday claimed it attacked three sites of the Israeli army over the last 24 hours: in the Al-Wazzani, Hanita and the latest being in the area of Jal Al-Allam.
The IDF has yet to deny or confirm the claims.
Israel shells northern Gaza
Israel bombarded northern Gaza overnight in what is among the heaviest strikes the Israeli army carried out in weeks in the area, which humanitarian groups have said was nearing famine.
Israeli army tanks were also seen entering east of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza as gunfire reportedly reached some schools were residents had been sheltering due to the strikes.
IDF assassinates 2 'significant terrorists' in Hezbollah's Aerial Unit
The Israeli army on Tuesday announced the killings of Hussein Ali Azkul and Sajed Sarafand, whom it describes as "significant terrorists" in the Aerial Unit of Iran-backed Hezbollah.
While Azkul was allegedly heavily involved in the Lebanon-based terror group's routine aerial activities, Sarafand was a significant member of Hezbollah's Radwan Forces, an elite special forces unit of the militant group that is dedicated to infiltrating northern Israel.
The IDF has eliminated 2 significant terrorists in Hezbollah’s Aerial Unit over the past day.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 23, 2024
🔴Hussein Ali Azkul:
Azkul was heavily involved in the planning and execution of terrorist attacks against Israel and was involved in Hezbollah's aerial unit's routine activities.… pic.twitter.com/hfSCzPHY68
