KEY POINTS
- US denies Houthis' attack claim on 'military cargo ship'
- Iran urges UN to condemn alleged Israeli strikes in Syria that killed 5 IRGC members
- Elon Musk visits Auschwitz following criticism over anti-Semitic posts on X
The war in Gaza has entered its 109th day, and the crisis in the Middle East ensues as the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants triggered instability across the region.
Israel has reportedly offered a two-month ceasefire to Hamas as part of a possible hostage deal that could see all the remaining abductees freed under a multi-phased process.
This comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he rejected a ceasefire-hostage proposal by Hamas, as it demanded a total truce, leaving the terror group intact, and the complete withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from the Gaza Strip.
- Iran is 'very directly involved' in Houthis' Red Sea attacks: US Navy's Mideast commander
- 3 Israeli army commanders of Paratroopers Brigade fall in southern Gaza
- 5 Arab countries working on proposal for normalization of Saudi-Israel relations: Report
- 21 IDF soldiers killed in southern Gaza after militant fired RPG at tank near 2 buildings
- Pro-Iran Iraqi militias claim drone strike at Ashdod port
- IDF launches investigation into 'disaster' that killed 21 reserve soldiers: Netanyahu
- Houthis vow retribution after latest joint US-UK strikes in Yemen
In the tension-packed Israel-Lebanon border, Hezbollah, a Hamas ally and Iran-backed terror group, continues to fire rockets toward northern Israel. The attacks have displaced thousands of Israelis who are pushing the government to reinstate security in the border area.
Over in the Houthi-disrupted Red Sea, the United States and the United Kingdom launched their second joint strikes in Yemen that targeted Houthi assets. The Yemeni rebel militia, another Iranian-backed group, continues to attack merchant shipping lanes in the area, claiming the attacks were in solidarity with Palestinians.
Back in Gaza, Israeli troops are expanding operations in Khan Yunis, the enclave's second-largest city, where the IDF said it found a massive tunnel that was used to house around 20 hostages.
Netanyahu has not wavered despite international scrutiny over Israel's military campaign in Gaza. His resolve draws from the violence-loaded history of the Israel-Palestine conflict that snowballed during the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. Hamas operatives murdered more than 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, burned down homes in multiple Israeli communities and abducted over 240 hostages, around 130 of whom are still in captivity.
Hamas appears to pin blame on Palestinians over Oct. 7 atrocities
Hamas official Razi Hamed admitted that "mistakes happened" on Oct. 7, adding that the terror group's was not to kill or abduct civilians, Israel's national broadcaster Kan reported Tuesday, citing Qatari media. "Our main goal was military," he said, as per a Google translation.
"When the fence between us and Israel was breached, many people poured in and did what they did," Hamed said, seemingly blaming other Palestinians who entered Israel during Hamas' shock invasion.
