KEY POINTS
- Over 33,000 dead from Israel-Hamas war: Hamas-run Gaza health ministry
- Israeli army begins preparing for ground raid of overcrowded Rafah
- Fatah-Hamas conflict reportedly escalates, raising questions about post-war Gaza's future
The war in Gaza is now on its 185th day – an Israeli strike early Monday killed field commander Ali Ahmed Hassin of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit, raising fears of a potential all-out war in the fraught Israel-Lebanon border.
Back in war-torn Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has withdrawn all of its ground troops from the southern end of the strip in a "tactical" move while a "significant force" will continue operating in other parts of the Strip.
- Iran suffers widespread internet outages: Reports
- Rocket sirens sound in northern Israel after Hezbollah commander's killing
- Iraq to send 10 million liters of much-needed fuel to Gaza
- Hezbollah confirms Radwan commander's killing
Over in Cairo, "no progress" was made in talks for a potential ceasefire, a Hamas official said despite other reports that there were positive signals from the latest round of discussions. Delegations from the U.S., Qatar and Israel were in Egypt Monday to discuss a possible truce, but more than six months since Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, the fate of some 130 hostages remaining in Gaza still hangs in the balance.
Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels have resumed their rampage in Middle Eastern waters as the rebel militia claimed to have attacked a British ship and two "Israeli" vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas and the Indian Ocean over the weekend. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed that a merchant ship was attacked near Aden.
On the other side of the world, Nicaragua called on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to halt Germany's arms support for Israel, accusing the European nation of "facilitating the commission of genocide" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Six months of hostilities in Gaza stem from the violent history of the Israel-Palestine conflict that has left thousands dead and injured from both sides, with Palestinian civilians suffering a disproportionate majority of the casualties.
Hezbollah confirms top commander's killing
The Lebanon-based terror group on Monday afternoon confirmed the killing of a top commander in its Radwan Force, alongside another Hezbollah member.
Hassin (Ali Ahmad Hussein) was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier in the day.
