KEY POINTS
- Israeli opposition's Yair Lapid calls on Netanyahu to follow IDF intel chief's lead
- Israel's original Iran retaliation plan reportedly included major strike on military targets
- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi lands in Pakistan to mend ties broken by tit-for-tat strikes
It's Day 199 of the Israel-Hamas war, and the focus has since shifted back to the Gaza Strip following an apparent de-escalation between Iran and Israel over the weekend.
Israel has reportedly kicked off preparations to evacuate the Palestinian civilian population in southern Gaza's Rafah city in the next two to three weeks, ahead of its planned ground raid of the overcrowded city.
Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) head of military intelligence, has announced he will step down from his position due to mistakes on Oct. 7 when Hamas operatives launched a shock attack in Israel, killing more than a thousand people and abducting some 250 hostages to trigger the six-month-long war in Gaza.
- Bodies found buried at Israeli-raided Nasser hospital: Gaza's civil defense agency
- IDF deploys 'numerous' troops along Israel-Lebanon border amid Hezbollah fire exchanges
- Hostage's mother says Israeli government doesn't have a solution to bring abductees home
- Expert expects pressure on other Israeli leaders to grow after Haliva's resignation
- Israel has yet to provide evidence on UNRWA employee accusations: Review
- Explosive drone launched toward air base hosting US troops in Iraq: Report
- Israeli troops reportedly return to Khan Yunis
An Israeli Air Force (IAF) remote manned aircraft was struck by a surface-to-air-missile and fell within Lebanese territory Sunday night. The incident comes amid continuing fire exchanges between Israeli forces and Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would "strongly defend the IDF" and would fight against anyone who believes they can impose sanctions on any Israeli army units.
In Syria, five rockets were reportedly fired from Iraqi territory toward a U.S. military base in the northeastern part of the country, marking the first attack against American forces in the Middle East since February.
Tensions in the Middle East are a result of decades of fighting in the Israel-Palestine conflict that has also led to attacks toward Israel and its allies by Iran-backed militia and Hamas allies.
The live update has ended.
Israeli troops return to Khan Yunis: Report
Israeli forces have "fought their way back" into an eastern part of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza's main city and the known hometown of Hamas' top official in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported Monday, citing residents.
US base in Iraq attacked: US official
The Ain al-Asad air base that hosts U.S. and coalition troops in Anbar, western Iraq, was attacked Monday by an armed drone, a U.S. official told Reuters.
This comes after rocket attacks were reported at an American military base in Syria Monday.
Israel preparing to evacuate Rafah civilians: Report
Israel is preparing to evacuate the civilian population in overcrowded Rafah city in the next two to three weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The preparations are part of Israel's planned ground incursion into the southern Gaza city, which is at center of U.S.-Israel tensions due to U.S. President Joe Biden being opposed to a raid of Rafah without a clear plan to protect Palestinian civilians.
Israel has yet to provide evidence of its claims regarding UNRWA employees: Review
A review of the embattled UN humanitarian aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) found that the agency has a strong framework on humanitarian neutrality compliance, though there are several issues that persist, according to the review which was seen by Reuters and is due for release later in the day.
The report also revealed that the Israeli government has not yet provided supporting evidence for its claims regarding 12 UNRWA employees it accused of being directly involved in Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre.
Pressure on Israeli leadership with Oct. 7 'responsibility' will grow: Expert
Prof. Uzi Rabi, director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle East Studies at the Tel Aviv University, told local i24 News Monday that after Maj. Gen. Haliva's resignation, "the pressure on those who actually do not claim responsibility [for the Oct. 7 tragedy] is going to be seen higher and higher to grow and grow, and basically, people should take responsibility once they [are] in position either in the army or the political echelons."
'The pressure on those who have responsibility is going to grow... This is unheard of, this is unprecedented,'
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) April 22, 2024
Prof. Uzi Rabi talks about Israeli leaders taking responsibility for October 7th failures pic.twitter.com/XOh6qVfvMb
Israeli government doesn't know how to bring hostages home: Abductee's mother
The mother of Avinatan Or, one of over 250 hostages that Hamas dragged into the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, said Monday that the loved ones of abductees "heard" the Netanyahu administration didn't have a solution to return some 130 hostages still in captivity.
"What we heard is that they don't know what to do, that there is no solution. The system does not know how to return the abductees," she said, as per a Google translation of Israel's national broadcaster, Kan, on the matter.
'Numerous' IDF troops deployed in northern border
There are "numerous" Israeli forces deployed along Israel's northern border with Lebanon, the IDF said Monday. "The troops are conducting operations and targeting terrorist infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah," the Israeli army said in an operational update.
As the Passover holiday begins, the IDF continues its operational activities and remains alert on all fronts:
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 22, 2024
📍Southern Command:
Troops initiated an operation to thwart terrorists in central Gaza while continuing to eliminate, locate and dismantle terrorist infrastructure.… pic.twitter.com/hiqg0dEXCV
Dozens of bodies found at Gaza hospital complex raided by Israel
Dozens of bodies were unearthed within the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, a hospital that the Israeli army previously raided. "We... are waiting for all graves to be exhumed in order to give a final number of martyrs. There were no clothes on some bodes, which certainly indicates (the victims) faced torture and abuse," said Mahmud Bassal, spokesman of Gaza's civil defense agency.
Read the full story here.
Iran's Raisi lands in Islamabad
The Iranian president has arrived in Pakistan for a three-day state visit with the goal of mending torn ties following tit-for-tat strikes earlier this year that put the Middle East at risk of a wider war at the time.
The Iranian delegation included some high-level officials from Iran, including the foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several cabinet members.
Israel initially planned wider-scale strikes in Iran: Report
Israel's original plan to retaliate against Iran after the latter's massive aerial attacks included an attack of a broader scale, but Israeli leaders agreed to scale back to prevent a new war front, The New York Times reported Monday, citing three Israeli senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The original plan reportedly included strikes on military targets across Iran, including targets near Tehran, the Iranian capital. The IDF has yet to deny or confirm the report.
Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel for the first time on Apr. 13 after an Israeli strike targeting the Iranian embassy's annex building in Damascus, Syria that killed seven Revolutionary Guards members, including two top generals.
Lapid calls on Netanyahu to follow in IDF intel chief's lead
The opposition party's leader on Monday praised Maj. Gen. Haliva's move of taking responsibility for the IDF's failures during Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre, calling the veteran Israeli military leader's decision "justified and honorable."
Lapid didn't pass up the opportunity to call on the Israeli prime minister to follow in Haliva's footsteps. "It would have been appropriate for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the same," he wrote on X, as per a Google translation.
5 rockets launched from Iraq toward US base in Syria: Report
At least five rockets were fired from the Iraqi town of Zummar toward a U.S. military base in Rumalyn, northeastern Syria on Sunday, Reuters reported Monday, citing two Iraqi security sources and an American official.
The said attack marks the first time since February that U.S. forces were attacked by Iran-backed militia in Iraq. The U.S. official said no American troops were injured in the rocket attacks.
Sanctions on any IDF units will be 'strongly' rejected: Netanyahu
The Israeli prime minister late on Sunday said he will "strongly defend the IDF" following an Axios report over the weekend that the U.S. is expected to announce sanctions against the Israeli army's Netzah Yehuda battalion "for human rights violations in the occupied West Bank," as per three U.S. sources with knowledge of the matter.
I will strongly defend the IDF, our army and our fighters. If somebody thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit in the IDF – I will fight this with all my powers.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 21, 2024
The battalion in question will reportedly be banned from receiving any kind of American military assistance or training under the sanctions, as per the report.
"If somebody thinks they can impose sanctions on a unit in the IDF – I will fight this with all my powers," Netanyahu's office said in a series of posts on X.
As our soldiers are united in defending us on the battlefield, we are united in defending them in the diplomatic arena.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 21, 2024
Together we will fight and with G-d's help, together we will win. Happy Passover.
The Biden administration has yet to deny or confirm the report.
Israeli aircraft falls in Lebanese territory after missile hit
An IAF aircraft that was operating in Lebanese skies Sunday night was struck by a surface-to-air missile. The aircraft "was hit and fell in Lebanese territory," the Israeli army said Monday. Israeli warplanes have since attacked the launch site of the missile and the incident is being investigated.
"The Air Force will continue to operate in the skies of Lebanon to fulfill IDF missions," the Israeli army said.
IDF intel chief during Oct. 7 Hamas massacre resigns
Maj. Gen Haliva on Monday announced his resignation after 38 years of service in the Israeli army. He was the head of the IDF's Intelligence Directorate, and "requested to end his position, following his leadership responsibility" as the directorate's chief "for the events of October 7," the IDF said in a statement on X.
Haliva's duties will be terminated after a replacement is appointed, as per the IDF.
In coordination with the Chief of the General Staff, the Head of the Intelligence Directorate, MG Aharon Haliva, has requested to end his position, following his leadership responsibility as the Head of the Intelligence Directorate for the events of October 7.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 22, 2024
The Chief of the…
Taking responsibility, IDF intel chief Maj. Gen Aharon Haliva resigns over failures surrounding Oct. 7 Hamas attack. pic.twitter.com/RX1v2l9jRl
— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) April 22, 2024
