Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 134?

IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced on Saturday morning that the military had struck targets inside Lebanon and Syria.

In Lebanon, the IDF attacked terrorist infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the Jabal Balat area near the border.

🔴جيش الدفاع يغير على بنى تحتية إرهابية لحزب الله داخل لبنان ومستودع أسلحة للجيش السوري داخل سورية 🔴

أغارت طائرات حربية لجيش الدفاع على بنية تحتية عسكرية لحزب الله الإرهابي في منطقة جبل بلاط حيث تم القضاء على مخرب تواجد في المكان. كما تم استهداف مبنى عسكري في منطقة بنت جبيل.…

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) February 17, 2024

They also struck military buildings in the Bin Jbeil area.

Operational intensity has escalated in the North after Hezbollah killed an Israeli soldier on Wednesday and injured several others. 

The Israeli response led to the deaths of several people and injured several more in Lebanon, according to local news.

Hasan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, said on Tuesday that the cross-border shelling into Israel would end only when Israel’s “aggression” against the Gaza Strip stops.

THE GOLAN Heights is the region where Cabernet Sauvignon thrives; this is the Golan Heights Winery’s vineyard at Ein Zivan. (credit: GOLAN HEIGHTS WINERY)

24-hour operation

Both attacks have been part of a series of operations in the last 24 hours, which saw the IDF strike several areas in South Lebanon with artillery.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the IDF bombed a Syrian Army weapons depot in the area of the town Mhajjah near the Golan Heights.

The strikes were a response to rocket launches from Syrian territory toward the southern Golan, although they did not enter Israeli territory.

Rockets fired from Syria are relatively rarer than those from Lebanon; however, since the war in Gaza started, they have become more frequent, with Israeli strikes into Syria increasing in recent months.

Last week, three non-Syrian individuals were killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes on a suburb of Damascus as part of the overall increase in strikes on Iranian targets in the Middle East.

Iran unveiled new weaponry on Saturday including what it said was the locally made Arman anti-ballistic missile system and the Azarakhsh low-altitude air defense system, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The announcement came amid heightened tensions in the region, with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants carrying out a string of attacks on vessels linked to the US, UK and Israel in the Red Sea in a show of solidarity with the Gaza Strip.

Gaza has been under military assault by Israel since Hamas's attacks on Israel's south on Oct. 7.

In response to the Houthi attacks, the US has targeted sites inside Yemen as well as facilities of Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria. In turn, US military bases have been attacked in Syria and Iraq. Israel has also struck Iranian targets in Syria.

Unveiling the new weapons

Saturday’s unveiling ceremony of the two vehicle-mounted systems took place in the presence of Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani.

A drone is seen during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on October 4, 2023 (credit: IRANIAN ARMY/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)

"With the entry of new systems into the country's defense network, the air defense capability of the Islamic Republic of Iran will increase significantly," IRNA said.

It said the Arman missile system "can simultaneously confront six targets at a distance of 120 to 180 km", while the Azarakhsh missile system "can identify and destroy targets... up to a range of 50 km with four ready-to-fire missiles".

In June Iran presented what officials described as its first domestically made hypersonic ballistic missile, named Fattah, with a range of 1,400 km.

The IDF announced on Saturday morning that they had arrested over 100 terrorists in Nasser Hospital during operations in the Gaza Strip and that operations would continue for the foreseeable future.

Troops from the 98th Division operating in the Khan Yunis area arrested the terrorists in Nasser Hospital with the support of Shayetet 13 special forces embedded in the Division.

Simultaneously, troops from the Maglan and Egoz units eliminated terrorists around the area of the hospital.

Troops from the 7th Armored Unit raided several terror targets and found significant amounts of combat equipment, including explosives, grenades, and rifles.

IDF troops operating in Khan Yunis, February 17, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)

The 98th Division identified three terrorists traveling to an area suspected of being a launch complex and directed an airstrike against them.

Intense fighting in Khan Yunis

During intense fighting in Khan Yunis, the troops from the paratroopers' combat team identified a terrorist squad nearby and eliminated them with close-range fire.

The Nahal Brigade's combat team also eliminated a number of terrorists throughout the last day.

In one case, the brigade identified two Hamas operatives and directed a fighter jet to attack the terrorists and eliminate them.

The Biden administration is preparing to send bombs and other weapons to Israel that would add to its military arsenal even as the US pushes for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing current and former US officials.

The proposed arms delivery includes MK-82 bombs and KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions that add precision guidance to bombs, and FMU-139 bomb fuses, the Journal reported, adding that the value of is estimated to be "tens of millions of dollars."

The proposed delivery is still being internally reviewed by the administration, the report added, citing a US official, who said the details of the proposal could change before the administration notifies congressional committee leaders who would need to approve the transfer.

The US State Department and Defense Department, Israel Defense Forces and Israel Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report.

Congressional review of weapons sale has previously been skipped

As of December 2023, the Biden administration had skipped congressional review of weapons sale to Israel twice.

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a ceremony marking two years since the January 6, 2021, attack on US Capitol, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, US, January 6, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)

The Biden administration has faced criticism for continuing to supply arms to Israel as allegations pile up that American-made weapons have been used in strikes that have killed or injured civilians.

The war in Gaza began when Iran-backed Hamas sent fighters into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's air and ground offensive has since devastated much of Gaza, killing 28,775 people, according to Hamas-run Palestinian health authorities.

Israeli ambassador to Portugal Dor Shapira, alongside B’nai B’rith Portugal President Gabriela Cantergi, cautioned on Wednesday that the silence of politicians in response to increasing antisemitism in Portugal could potentially lead to physical attacks against Jews.

This concern arises amidst a noticeable lack of condemnation among Portuguese politicians across the political spectrum following a surge in antisemitic incidents across the country.

The fighting in Khan Yunis is mainly taking place above ground, as hiding places for senior Hamas officials are running low. Additionally, the IDF is working to repair the fence between Israel and Gaza but is receiving criticism that the work is being done too quickly without taking past mistakes into account, Walla reported.

In the ground incursion, the last remaining large area is Rafah, where IDF sources say that a raid is an inevitable reality. "It will happen, and all that remains to be decided is the method and force."

Richard Haass, former head of the Council on Foreign Relations and former member of the US State Department, approached senior aides and leaders last month, such as US Vice President Kamala Harris, to outline a plan to change the relationship between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in light of the country's war with Hamas, Politico reported on Friday.

Biden has expressed concern over Israel's military campaign in Gaza - with criticism emanating not only from the president and senior officials in his administration but also from foreign policy experts such as Haass.

Two major gas pipelines in Iran were allegedly attacked by Israel this week, according to a Friday report by The New York Times, citing an IRGC-affiliated military strategist and two Western officials.

The two pipelines, which carry gas from Iran's south to their major cities such as Tehran, were hit in multiple locations simultaneously. The attack "knocked out about 15 percent of Iran’s natural daily gas production," the Times quoted energy experts as saying.

Egypt's State Information Service said on Friday that Egypt categorically denies allegations of participating in any process involving the displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.