Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 124?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the Prime Minister's Office said.

Following a long private meeting, the two are holding an extended meeting in which, among others, the defense minister, the strategic affairs minister, along with the heads of the National Security Council, the Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the IDF chief of staff, were participating.

Blinken is accompanied by American, the political advisor, the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, the Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues, and the US ambassador to Israel.

The meeting comes after Blinken's meeting in Doha on Tuesday, in which he said he would discuss Hamas's response to the hostage deal with the Israeli government in his upcoming visit. 

This is a developing story.

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet attacked a Hezbollah military structure in the region of Marwahin, IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported on Wednesday. 

In addition, on Tuesday night, IDF warplanes targeted a Hezbollah military infrastructure in the area of the village of Bani Hiyan.

The military further noted that in response to the launches from Lebanon towards the Mount Dov and Shetula areas, earlier on Wednesday, IDF artillery fired at the sources of the launch. 

The IDF announced on Wednesday that it found a second round of Hamas hostage cages underground in Khan Yunis.

The announcement followed an earlier IDF announcement of a similar finding of hostage cages on January 20.

In this case, there were cages for 12 hostages, nine of which are still held by Hamas, and three of which were returned to Israel during the November 23-30 hostage exchange deal.

For both discoveries, the cages were only found after delving deep into a very extended tunnel with a variety of defenses until arriving at an unusually large space with many Hamas terror management functions, including the cages for the hostages.

Yahya Sinwar using Gaza hostages as human shields in Gaza

IDF intelligence estimates that Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and other top Hamas leaders used these hostages as human shields to protect them from IDF attacks.

Inside view of a tunnel infrastructure, including a makeshift kitchen and a cage, in Gaza (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Millions of shekels were invested in these special underground spaces to outfit them with unique capabilities, including the cages, and to manage the war with Israel.

IDF intelligence is unsure how many more such spaces there may be, though, at this point, the IDF has said it has nearly achieved operational control of Khan Yunis, and it had already achieved such control in Gaza City over a month ago.

At this point, IDF sources have suggested to the Jerusalem Post that Hamas's leadership and the hostages may be in Rafah, hiding among around 1.5 million Palestinian civilians, while some may also be in a part of central Gaza, which the IDF has not finished with. 

In a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Argentinian President Javier Milei at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning, Netanyahu thanked the Argentinian president for announcing his intention to declare Hamas a terrorist organization and discussed potential joint business ventures. 

The meeting was initially private and then expanded. Netanyahu thanked Milei for taking this step and for his unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself. 

In addition, the two agreed on the launch of joint business delegations in various fields.

St.-Sgt. Hanan Drori Hanan Drori of Psagot was announced as a fallen soldier on Wednesday morning by the Binyamin Regional Council.

According to the Council's statement, Drori was injured over two months ago while serving in Gaza but has now succumbed to his wounds. He reportedly suffered from a medical fungus that caused an infection.

Drori, who was 26, is survived by his parents and three brothers and was reportedly about to get engaged.

"I knew Hanan as a dear neighbor," Binyamin Regional Council head Yisrael Katz said. "We have lost a beautiful man with a sense of humor and kindness. A smart and brilliant guy. We embrace the whole family and the dear parents Tali and Roni."

Drori is the third resident of Psagot to be killed since the war against Hamas began. 

Tens of thousands of reservists who served in the IDF are now gradually returning from the battlefield alongside those who continued to work during the fighting. Those coming home after long weeks and months are discovering that the real struggle has only just begun. 

A new study by the Israeli Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (IIOSH) exposes the health costs of war: 43% of them suffer from stress and anxiety; 39% experience severe sleep problems; and 41% reported double the amount of neck and back pain compared to last summer.

Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would quiet the guns in Gaza for four-and-a-half months leading to an end to the war, in response to a proposal sent last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and backed by the United States and Israel.

According to a draft document seen by Reuters, the Hamas counterproposal envisions three phases lasting 45 days each.

The proposal would see militants exchange the remaining Israeli hostages they captured on Oct. 7 for Palestinian prisoners. The reconstruction of Gaza would begin, Israeli forces would withdraw completely, and bodies and remains would be exchanged.

Israel and the United States have recently been discussing a plan for the exile of senior Hamas members as part of a wider deal, according to a report on Tuesday on Channel 13.

Officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inner circle stated in recent closed-door discussions that this is a very favorable option for Israel, as "the implication of the exile is the end of Hamas leadership."

There were reports in the past of a new proposal by mediators that included the exile of Hamas leaders from the Gaza Strip to a third country. According to the report, in exchange for this, Hamas would release all the Israeli captives it holds, but it would be done in stages until the withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza.

The Israeli government made the decision on Sunday to pay the salaries of the hostages held by Hamas retroactively from October 7 in order to provide assistance to their families until they return home. 

As of October 7, the families of the hostages faced numerous challenges, several of which include financial issues. The decision that was made on Sunday was an effort to address the current expenses of the hostages and the needs of their families. 

This decision was made after extensive inter-ministerial staff work, in which the Prime Minister’s Office, the Directorate of Abductees, Missing Persons and Returnees, the Labor Ministry, the National Insurance Institute (NII), the Justice Ministry, and the Finance Ministry convened and agreed that the “replacement salary” would be based on the calculation of their previous salary. 

In a new report by Microsoft, the tech giant illustrates how hackers from Iran aided Hamas after the October 7 massacre. 

According to tests performed by Microsoft, Iran's cyber operations made use of new technologies, including AI. All of its attacks were accompanied by online influence attacks. 

However, there has been no evidence that Iran and Hamas were coordinating on the day of the massacre itself.