Israel-Hamas War Day 202: What's going on in Israel?

IDF, Shin Bet, Border Police, and Counterterrorism Unit forces arrested eight wanted persons throughout the West Bank overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, the IDF announced.

IDF and Shin Bet detained six of those arrested in the Tulkarm area. 

Another was arrested in Hebron by the Yehuda Division. In another operation in Nabi Saleh, IDF soldiers arrested a wanted man, destroyed a bomb, and confiscated a Carlo-type rifle. 

The arrested persons and confiscated weapons were transferred to the security forces for further treatment. There were no casualties to Israeli operatives. 

Since the beginning of the war, approximately 3,850 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the West Bank, the IDF added. Approximately 1,650 of those were associated with Hamas.

US Army vessels that are making their way toward the coast of Gaza to build a temporary pier to supply humanitarian goods could be in position “very soon,” US Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on April 23 at a press conference.

He was answering questions from the press and was asked about the US plans, which go back several months, to boost humanitarian aid via this novel approach of building a temporary pier or floating dock off Gaza.

“So as I understand it, as of right now, there has been no physical construction of the temporary pier or the causeway. As we've discussed, you know, there is a -- for lack of a better term, sort of a checklist that one is going to follow in order to implement this capability,” Ryder said. “As Central Command and U.S. Army Central goes through that checklist, we are positioned to begin construction very soon, in the very near future, but you want to do those steps in order so that by the time you are erecting this causeway and temporary pier, that all of the pieces are in place and that you can begin operating.”

This illustrates the complexity involved in the operation. The US has sent an armada of five ships, one of which was left off the coast of Africa, to help build the pier. According to vessel tracking data, the USAV Monterrey is still in port at Crete in Souda Bay at a naval facility.

Under the directive of IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and with the approval of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Manpower Directorate Head Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor has appointed an advisory committee to examine how best to honor hostages and civilians who participated in combat or were in unique situations during the war, the IDF announced Thursday morning.

According to the announcement, the committee was appointed following the October 7 massacre and the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. 

The advisory committee will examine whether existing guidelines need to be changed in light of the unique circumstances the State of Israel currently finds itself in amid the war and hostage crisis. 

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza announced on Thursday that the death toll in the Strip had reached 34,305.

Hamas does not distinguish between civilian and terrorist casualties in its toll. 

The Chairman of the Religious Zionism party, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, called for a new IDF chief of staff to replace current IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi Thursday morning in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

א. זה לא בניגוד לעמדת הממשלה.
אני הצבתי עמדה שאין ברירה ובלי שליטה שלנו בעזה לא יהיה ביטחון.
ב. אחת הרעות החולות בצה"ל היא העדר חשיבה מאתגרת וסיעור מוחות. ככה בדיוק צומחות קונספציות. עוד סיבה למה חייבים מטכ״ל חדש שיהיה התקפי, יצירתי ובלי אחידות מחשבתית. pic.twitter.com/5Z5MOtTzOq

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) April 25, 2024

"One of the ills of the IDF is the lack of critical thinking and brainstorming, which is exactly how ideas grow. This is another reason why we need a new chief of staff who will be assertive, creative, and not bound by conventional thinking," Smotrich said, replying to a picture of a story in Yisrael Hayom. 

Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said on Thursday in an interview with the Associated Press (AP) that the terrorist organization is ready to agree to a five-year ceasefire and to disarm itself if an independent Palestinian state is established within the pre-1967 borders.

Al-Hayya is the Deputy Chairman of Hamas in Gaza.

On Wednesday, al-Hayya told Al-Aksa TV that Hamas maintained its demand that a hostage deal would include a permanent ceasefire.

The head of the opposition and chairman of the Yesh Atid party, Yair Lapid, criticized Minister Benny Gantz and Minister Gadi Eisenkot, calling them to resign from their positions on Thursday morning, Maariv reported. 

"They are keeping an illegitimate and failed government alive. They are ineffective, so they should go home and allow us to work on bringing down this government," Lapid said in a conversation with Udi Segal and Tal Shalu on 103FM. 

Additionally Lapid said to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "There is no war now anyways, so make a deal and return the hostages. This is your duty."

Giora Zaltz, head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, called on the Israeli government to end the situation in the North Thursday morning, Maariv reported.

"If we don't live along the borders, the State of Israel will not exist. We must put an end to this situation," Zaltz said. 

Between Wednesday and Thursday, IDF troops have continued to operate in the central Gaza corridor, eliminating terrorists and striking terrorist infrastructure, the military reported.

The IDF's Nahal Brigade eliminated several terrorists and destroyed terrorist infrastructure in a corridor in the center of the Gaza Strip, the IDF added. 

In one of the attacks, the Nahal Brigade forces identified two terrorists attempting to launch rockets toward Israeli territory, and in response, the Israel Air Force (IAF) struck them. 

The IAF also destroyed the launch pit and the ammunition warehouse in which one of the terrorists was based following the launch attempt.   

A Greek military vessel serving in the European Union's naval mission in the Red Sea intercepted two drones launched by Yemen's Houthi militants towards a commercial ship, officials at the Greek Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

"On Thursday morning, Greek frigate Hydra, while it was escorting a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, fired at two drones," an official told Reuters.

"It destroyed one while the second moved away," he added. Another defense official confirmed the details of the incident.

Greece has supplied a frigate to the EU's mission, dubbed Aspides, that launched in February to help protect the key maritime trade route from drone and missile attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militia, who say they are targeting commercial ships in retaliation for Israel's war on Gaza.