Israel-Hamas war: What happened on day 182?

Opposition leader Yair Lapid will leave on Saturday evening to visit Washington, DC, Lapid's office announced.

During his visit, Lapid will meet with senior officials of the American administration in the White House and the State Department, as well as with senior Democratic and Republican senators.

Lapid will also meet with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Israeli opposition leader will also meet with senators, including the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Lindsey Graham.

Hostile aircraft intrusion sirens sounded in northern Israel on Saturday evening.

IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police operated on Friday night to arrest seven wanted individuals in the West Bank, the IDF stated.

In the village of Dir Zamat in the Judea Division, IDF soldiers discovered and confiscated numerous combat means hidden in the area, including rifles and ammunition. In Nablus in the Samaria Division, Beit Aroosh, and the village of Dura in the Judea Division, forces arrested four wanted individuals.

Rocket sirens sounded multiple times across northern Israel on Saturday afternoon.

IDF fighter jets struck Hezbollah terror targets in the areas of Ayta ash Shab, Arnoun, and Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon on Saturday, the IDF stated.

IDF artillery also fired at threats in the areas of Aalma El Chaeb and Souaneh overnight.

The military action followed five launches that were identified overnight, coming from southern Lebanon into Israel.

Humanitarian aid trucks have entered the northern Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing for the first time since October 7, Israeli media reported on Saturday afternoon.
 

Over the course of its operations in the Al-Amal area in Khan Yunis, the Givati ​​Brigade combat team has been dismantling Hamas weapons storage facilities, and destroyed over 40 tons of explosive devices, the IDF announced on Saturday.

Additionally, the soldiers confiscated Hamas weapons that were being stockpiled in the Gaza Strip, including rifle ammunition and RPGs.

The announcement also stated that the soldiers of the Givati Brigade had multiple close-quarter encounters with Hamas terrorists. In one instance, the soldiers detected four Hamas terrorists near their location and subsequently killed them.

Explosive material discovered, and then later destroyed by IDF soldiers, April 6, 2024. (credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Turkish authorities have detained 48 people suspected of having ties to Islamic State in connection with a shooting at an Istanbul church in January, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X on Saturday.

One Turkish citizen was killed by two Islamic State gunmen at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul in January.

The IDF and Israel's Shin Bet killed senior Hamas operative Akram Abd Al-Rahman Husein Salamah earlier this week in a joint operation in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Saturday.

According to the announcement, the operation succeeded as a result of IDF and Shin Bet intelligence, and the Israeli Air Force, whose fighter jets ultimately carried out the strike that killed Akram.

Akram was a senior Hamas official who held many key positions, including Deputy Head of the Khan Yunis district.

IDF soldiers operating in Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip, April , 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

A Hamas delegation is set to leave to Cairo in order to discuss the hostage negotiations on Sunday, according to Israeli media reports, citing a Saturday report by Qatari state-affiliated news source Al-Jazeera.

Over the past few hours, intensive discussions have reportedly taken place between Hamas's political bureau head, Ismail Haniyeh, and mediators regarding the revival of negotiations in Cairo, as per the report.

This is a developing story.