KEY POINTS
- Trump says Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre was very sad but Israel has to "finish up" the war
- Truce talks seem to stall amid contradicting reports regarding Israeli delegation in Doha
- White House reiterates abstention does not represent shift in US policy
The war in Gaza has entered its 172nd day – Iranian and Arab media reported Tuesday that a military advisor of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed in a Monday night airstrike in Syria that the U.S. army conducted.
Hamas has rejected the latest truce proposal, saying Israel ignored its core demands. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pinned the blame on not just Hamas' disinterest in achieving a ceasefire, but also on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote Monday.
For the first time since the war started, the U.S. did not veto a UNSC text that called for both an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of some 130 hostages still being held in the war-torn enclave.
- 8 Iraqi militia members also killed in strike that eliminated IRGC advisor ranked colonel: Arab media
- UN special rapporteur says Israel's military offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide
- US Treasury Department adds 12 Syrian entities, 6 Syrians to its SDN list
- WHO staff killed in airstrike in Syria Tuesday morning: WHO chief
- Colombia's Gustavo Petro threatens to cut relations with Israel
- 'Heavy' rocket barrage fired toward northern Israel from Lebanon: Reports
- Israeli fighter jets strike Hezbollah 'military complex' in Lebanon
In Israel's northern border with Lebanon, three rocket launches were detected from Lebanese territory, causing a fire to break out in the Avivim area, an Israeli civilian settlement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which has been launching missiles and rockets toward northern Israel since Oct. 7 from Lebanon, attacked the Israeli army's Meron base Tuesday.
Yemeni rebel Houthis, another Iranian-backed terror group, attacked multiple "American" and "British" vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in the past three days as per its spokesman, Yahya Sare'e.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has landed in Iran Tuesday after Washington, Israel's top western ally, abstained from the UNSC's Gaza ceasefire vote. Iran has supported Hamas' war with Israel for over five months.
Fighting in Gaza continues despite the UN resolution calling for a halt in hostilities by the warring sides. Decades of violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict that has left more than a thousand dead in Israel and over 32,000 dead in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.
The live update has ended.
Israeli warplanes attack Hezbollah 'military complex'
Israeli fighter jets struck a "military complex used by the air unit of the terrorist organization" in Lebanon Tuesday afternoon following the terror group's targeting of the Israeli army's strategic air traffic control base in Meron, northern Israel, the IDF said.
מטוסי קרב תקפו לפני זמן קצר בעומק לבנון, במרחב זבוד, מתחם צבאי בשימוש היחידה האווירית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, זאת בתגובה לשיגורים שבוצעו מוקדם יותר היום לעבר מרחב יחידת הבקרה האווירית שבאיזור מירון.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 26, 2024
במתחם הותקפו מנחת לכלי טיס ומספר מבנים צבאיים נוספים של ארגון הטרור >> pic.twitter.com/RePqdhWwlf
The retaliatory attack came at around the same time an Israeli outlet reported that a "heavy" rocket barrage was fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel.
Rocket barrage fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel
A "heavy" rocket barrage was fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel at around 4:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. EST) Tuesday, according to an Israeli outlet and posts on X.
🚨 Heavy rocket barrage from Lebanon into northern Israel
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) March 26, 2024
#BREAKING Massive Rockets barrage from Lebanon towards northern Israel. pic.twitter.com/yFpvLdKALc
— War Intel (@warintel4u) March 26, 2024
🚨#BREAKING: Red Alert sirens sound across northern #Israel as a heavy barrage of rockets is fired by #Hezbollah from Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/roX1XYqfKa
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) March 26, 2024
Colombia threatens to cut ties with Israel
Colombia's President on Tuesday warned that if Israel doesn't comply with the UN's call for an immediate ceasefire under the resolution adopted Monday, "we break diplomatic relations," as per a Google-translated post on X.
WHO says one of its employees killed in Syria airstrike
Engineer Emad Shehab was killed "in an airstrike in Syria" Tuesday morning, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on X. He said Emad "served as the WHO water and sanitation focal point in Deir-ez-Zor."
My colleagues and I are heartbroken at the tragic loss of another one of our own in an airstrike in #Syria this morning, engineer Emad Shehab. We extend our deepest condolences to his family.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 26, 2024
Emad served as the @WHO water and sanitation focal point in Deir-ez-Zor. His untimely… pic.twitter.com/vG1A2IRsid
Iranian media alleged earlier in the day that the airstrike in the Syrian city targeting an IRGC advisor was carried out by the U.S.
US sanctions Syrian entities, individuals
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday added six individuals, 12 entities, and two ships to its specially designated national (SDN) list. The department noted that Tuesday's additions were "counter terrorism designations" specifically targeting the Syrian entities and individuals listed.
According to the U.S. Treasury, the sanctions mean the assets of the individuals and entities "are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them." It said some of the people and companies on the list are "terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific."
Israel's Gaza offensive amounts to genocide: UN special rapporteur
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights, told the UN's Human Rights Council Tuesday that Israel's military offensive in Gaza amounted to genocide, Reuters reported. "I find that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide against Palestinians as a group in Gaza has been met," she said.
She then called on countries to impose sanctions and halt arms sales to Israel.
US reiterates its policy hasn't changed following UNSC vote abstention
White House spokesperson John Kirby has insisted that the U.S. abstention Monday on a UNSC resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza "does not represent a shift in our policy."
This comes following Netanyahu's decision to cancel the Washington trip of an Israeli delegation this week, citing "the change in the U.S. position" since Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre.
In light of the change in the US position, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided that the delegation will remain in Israel.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 25, 2024
Netanyahu's office said shortly after the UNSC vote Monday that the U.S. "has abandoned its policy in the UN today."
Prime Minister’s Office Statement:
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 25, 2024
The United States has abandoned its policy in the UN today. Just a few days ago, it supported a Security Council resolution that linked a call for a ceasefire to the release of hostages.
US strike in Syria kills IRGC advisor: Iranian media
A strike in Deir Ez-zur, eastern Syria Monday night, killed a military advisor of Iran's IRGC, the Iranian government's semi-Iranian Mehr news reported Tuesday. The outlet reported that Behrouz Vahedi's killing was carried out "by the U.S."
The assassinated advisor was a colonel, Sky News in Arabic reported, citing Iranian sources. It also reported that eight other members of an Iraqi militia that were "loyal to Iran" were killed in the strike, citing British information office the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The U.S. has yet to deny or confirm the reports.
Truce talks 'ongoing': Qatar
Qatar, a key mediator in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, said Tuesday that talks for a truce were "ongoing," and the UNSC vote Monday didn't have "any immediate effect" on discussions, as per Reuters.
However, there are also local reports that some members of the Israeli delegation engaged in truce talks on Doha have left Qatar.
This comes after Hamas rejected a U.S.-proposed truce plan that Israel said was a "compromise" that could have led to a halt in the nearly six-month-long fighting.
Trump feels sad about Oct. 7 massacre, but urges Israel to wrap up war
The Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas in Israel was "one of the saddest things I've ever seen," former U.S. president Donald Trump told an Israeli outlet in a Monday interview. "It bothers me so much when I see people, they don't talk about Oct. 7 anymore, they talk about how aggressive Israel is," he added.
However, he said Israel has to "finish up your war," warning further that the country is losing a lot of support from the world.
Haniyeh arrives in Tehran
The Hamas chief has arrived in Tehran, Iranian state-owned Press TV reported Tuesday. His visit comes in the heels of a UNSC resolution vote that the U.S. did not veto. He was welcomed by Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as per the outlet.
Houthis claim attacks on 'American' and 'British' ships
Sare'e on Tuesday said the Yemeni rebel militia carried out four attacks in Middle Eastern waters in the past 72 hours, targeting what it said were "American" and "British" vessels.
The Houthi spokesman said the "American" ship Saratoga was attacked in the Gulf of Aden, as well as the "American merchant vessel Apl Detroit. He added that "British" ship Huang Pu was attacked in the Red Sea, while commercial bulk carrier Pretty Lady was targeted as it was "heading to the ports" of Israel.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday that Huang Pu is a Chinese-owned and Chinese-operated oil tanker. There have been reports that China and Russia secured a deal with the Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels to ensure that Chinese and Russian ships can transit Middle Eastern waters without being targeted.
Hezbollah attacks key IDF base
Iran-backed Hezbollah on Tuesday afternoon fired toward the Israeli army's strategic air control base in Meron, near Safed in northern Israel, the IDF said.
Hezbollah has been attacking IDF sites and bases in recent weeks even as the war in Gaza rages on. Like the Yemeni rebel Houthis, Hezbollah pledged solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians.
Fire breaks out in Avivim after Hezbollah fires from Lebanon
A fire broke out in the area of Avivim Tuesday after "three launches" were made from Lebanese territory, the Israeli army said as per a Google translation. There were no casualties in the attacks, but "damage was caused." In response, IDF forces attacked the sources of the rocket launches in Lebanon, the IDF added.
Avivim is a moshav in the far north of Israel and is located less than one kilometer from the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Hamas' truce rejection a 'sad testament' to UNSC vote's impact: Netanyahu
The Israeli prime minister on Monday said Hamas' current stance on a halt to the fighting in Gaza "clearly demonstrates its utter disinterest in a negotiated deal." Netanyahu didn't stop there in his callout of the Palestinian militant group's rejection of a U.S. "compromise proposal," saying Hamas' stance also "attests to the damage done by the UN Security Council's resolution."
He didn't directly question why Washington, Israel's top western ally, did not veto the UNSC text, but kept up his subtle jabs. "Hamas rebuffed all US offers for a compromise, while celebrating the Security Council's resolution," his office said in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday.
He also reiterated that Israel "will not address Hamas's delusional demands" and will pursue its war goals.
The Prime Minister's Office, this morning:
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 26, 2024
Hamas's stance clearly demonstrates its utter disinterest in a negotiated deal and attests to the damage done by the UN Security Council's resolution.
Hamas rejects latest truce proposal
The Palestinian terror group rejected the latest ceasefire deal proposal that seeks a six-week halt in the fighting. It informed mediators Egypt and Qatar that it will stick to its original demands: a comprehensive truce, the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, and the full withdrawal of IDF troops from the enclave.
This comes even after mediators, in cooperation with the U.S., have been trying to narrow the gap between the warring sides on what a ceasefire should look like amid mounting deaths and hunger in Gaza.
