War Day 559: Heavy Airstrikes in Lebanon, Houthis Suffering from Attacks

War Summary, Day 559: Hamas rejects deal, fallen hero in Gaza, tunnel troubles, Hamas recruiting heavily, heavy airstrikes in Lebanon, Senior Hezbollah terrorist eliminated, Lebanese Army foiled attempted rocket launch, claims that Hezbollah is handing in weapons, Houthis suffering from heavy attack, and deep concerns about U.S.-Iran talks in Italy.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

59 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
147 living hostages rescued.
49 hostage bodies rescued.
1,828 Israelis killed.
413 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
87 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
30,715 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
10,000 Israelis estimated remain displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• Hamas rejects deal
• Netanyahu addresses negotiation points
• Fallen hero in Gaza
• Operations in Gaza continue to slowly expand
• Tunnel troubles
• Hamas recruiting heavily
• Ambulance investigation concluded, IDF hero removed from position
• Failed attack at Homesh
• Heavy airstrikes in Lebanon
• Senior Hezbollah terrorist eliminated
• Lebanese Army foiled attempted rocket launch
• Claims that Hezbollah is handing in weapons
• Houthis attack Central Israel
• Houthis under heavy attack, suffering
• Deep concerns about U.S.-Iran talks in Italy

Hostages:

Hamas publicly announced that they reject Israel’s latest hostage-ceasefire proposal, again emphasizing that they will only accept a deal with a guaranteed end to the war, and complete IDF withdrawal from all of Gaza (Philadelphi Corridor included.

Prime Minister Netanyahu released a video statement, addressing the negotiations. In the video, Netanyahu states that accepting Hamas’s demands will be a surrender to Hamas and Iran, will teach them that terrorism wins, and will allow Hamas to commit another attack in the near future—something which they have already begun to plan. Netanyahu emphasized that all the accomplishments of the war in Gaza until now will be lost, after so many soldiers gave their lives to achieve them.

Netanyahu further addressed claims that Israel can accept the deal, get the hostages, and then return to war, responding that “Hamas is pure evil, but not stupid.” Hamas is demanding international guarantees for a permanent ceasefire, which would make it completely impossible or suicidal for Israel to even carry out one strike against Hamas.

The Prime Minister emphasized that he is continuing to work to free the remaining hostages, while also defeating Hamas to ensure they cannot attack again. He says that in the first weeks of the war, the military expert assessment was that it may not be possible to save even one hostage—but at this point, 196 hostages have been returned, the vast majority still alive. Netanyahu believes that it’s still possible to rescue more hostages, but only through military pressure, without any “surrender.”

Following Netanyahu’s announcement, Arab diplomats told Times of Israel that Hamas may be willing to accept a longterm truce of 5-15 years, during which they will halt all military operations, including tunnel digging and weapons development, and cede control of Gaza to an independent “body of Palestinian technocrats.” The sources claimed that some Hamas officials may even be willing to lock up their personal weapons during the truce. While this may be the furthest Hamas has ever gone, it is still a non-starter, since it doesn’t disarm Hamas. Hamas has repeatedly stated that disarming is a red line, and the “right to resistance” (aka terror attacks) is non-negotiable.

Gaza:

The IDF announced the name of a hero who fell in battle in Gaza on Shabbat:
Warrant Officer G’haleb Sliman Alnasasra, 35, from Rahat.

Alnasasra is from the legendary Bedouin trackers unit, and was operating under the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade. On Shabbat morning, a group of soldiers from the 252nd Division, which is working to clear the area around Beit Hanoun, came under fire. Three female soldiers were injured including two seriously. The fire came from terrorists who popped out of a tunnel shaft which had been missed. Alnasasra and other trackers came with rescue forces to extract the wounded, when Hamas terrorists remotely set off a roadside bomb. The bomb killed Alnasasra and injured two other trackers, including one seriously.

The IDF followed with a wave of airstrikes, in an attempt to eliminate the terrorists involved.

Alnasasra is remembered as a highly skilled hero, who volunteered in the IDF despite being exempt from duty.

The war in Gaza is still not in full force, and remains focused on pressing Hamas into a deal to release hostages. The IDF is still working to prepare for a full-force operation, and for the signal to go ahead.

Over the week of Pesach, the IDF struck 300 terror targets in Gaza, of which half were in the last two days.

In Northern Gaza, the 252nd Division is continuing to clear the buffer zone area, and has expanded operations in the Shejaiya area. Troops eliminated dozens of terrorists in the last few days, and located previously unknown tunnels and underground bunkers, as well as weapons depots.

In Southern Gaza, the 36th Division is continuing to secure the new Morag Corridor, which cuts off the entire Rafah south of Khan Younis. The Division is working in with a large number of tanks, using heavy artillery fire to destroy many Hamas targets in the area, including buildings used to hide weapons, rocket launch sites, and terrorist gatherings.

Further South, inside Rafah, the Gaza Division (143) is continuing operations in the Shaboura and Tel Sultan neighborhoods. These neighborhoods were intense Hamas strongholds, and full of booby-traps and underground tunnel routes. Troops need to work meticulously to uncover Hamas’s hidden infrastructure.

Troops continue to discover previously unknown Hamas tunnels throughout Gaza, such as a route which connected Khan Younis to Rafah, and would have allowed the terrorists to move between the two cities even after one was evacuated and closed off.

Hamas is trying to rebuild. According to Al-Hadath, Hamas has launched a campaign to recruit 30,000 terrorist fighters for their military wing in Gaza. Hamas currently has 20,000 terrorist fighters.

A side note in PM Netanyahu’s recent address to Israelis shows the direction the war can be expected to head into. Netanyahu noted that an additional reason not to accept a permanent ceasefire deal, is because it would lose the opportunity to carry out U.S. President Trump’s plan to evacuate Gaza and rebuild it without terrorism.

Ambulance Investigation Conclusion

The IDF concluded an intensive investigation into the March 23 incident, in which troops operating in Rafah fired at ambulances.

The investigation found that the incident occurred in a hostile and dangerous combat zone, in which troops were under a regional threat, and terrorists were known to be using ambulances for weapons and combat transportation. Libelous claims that IDF troops tied and executed the medics up close were proven completely false.

The order of events:

• Troops set up an ambush operation, targeting terrorists on the road.
• It was nighttime, and completely dark out.
• Hamas terrorists drove a vehicle into the ambush. Troops opened fire, and eliminated them.
• Troops were alerted that more Hamas terrorists were in the area.
• An hour later, surveillance soldiers reported that five vehicles were speeding towards the troops’ position.
• The investigation found that due to the dark and intensity of the moment, the troops did not identify the vehicles to be ambulances. They only became aware of this during later inspection.
• The vehicles stopped close to the IDF troops’ position, and people quickly jumped out.
• The troops assessed that these were armed Hamas terrorists, who came to rescue the previously eliminated terrorists. The “rescuers” were seen as dangerous.
• Troops opened fire to eliminate the threat.
• Fifteen minutes later, a UN vehicle drove by the troops. The troops fired at the vehicle. This was found to be against standing orders.
• In total, from all incidents, 15 Gazans, most of whom identified as medics, were killed. Of them, 6 were confirmed to be known Hamas terrorists.
• At dawn, the soldiers buried the bodies so that they wouldn’t be desecrated by wild dogs, The vehicles were moved off the road, in order to allow civilians to use the road to evacuate.
• The investigation found that the soldiers did not attempt to hide anything from the investigation, and reported on the incidents immediately after they occurred, as is standard procedure.

In conclusion, the IDF found that several “professional mistakes” were made, and reporting was “incomplete.”

Despite findings that the mistakes made were explained by the intensity of the situation, the IDF chose to take disciplinary action: The commander of the brigade received a formal reprimand in his personal file, and the deputy commander of the unit was removed from his position.

The IDF emphasized that the deputy commander is “a highly meritorious officer, whose military service and personal story reflect a fighting spirit, volunteering, and great dedication. Since October 7th, he returned from abroad, served in the reserves, fought until being wounded in the fighting in Gaza, to which he returned after rehabilitation and recovery.”

The IDF also expressed regret for harm to any uninvolved individuals.

Judea & Samaria:

The IDF gave further background information on the recent arrest of Muhammad Zakharena, who was hiding in a cave. Zakharena took the lead in a deadly terror attack which killed three Israelis, in January 2025. The IDF and Shin Bet had an idea of the area he was hiding in, but no specifics. They stood stationed in the area, while Duvduvan special forces arrested two accomplices who were hiding in a home in Qabatiya, Samaria. The accomplices were quick to provide the information that led troops to Zakharena’s hiding cave.

Today, a terrorist fired at IDF forces at the Homesh checkpoint in Samaria. Troops responded with fire and neutralized the terrorist. There were no casualties to our soldiers.

Lebanon:

Between Friday and Shabbat, the IDF eliminated two Hezbollah terrorists who were operating in Southern Lebanon.

Today (Sunday), brought a sudden heavy cluster of airstrikes in the Nebatiya area os Southern Lebanon. The IDF announced tat it was hitting a number of Hezbollah terror targets, including rocket launchers and military infrastructure.

The IDF announced that it eliminated Hussein Ali Nasser, deputy head of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400. Nasser was responsible for smuggling weapons and money into Lebanon to rebuild Hezbollah’s military capabilities. He worked with Iranian officials and used covert contacts at Beirut airport to facilitate these transfers. He also arranged weapons purchases from smugglers along the Syria-Lebanon border, and managed the terror group’s re-strengthening processes. The IDF had previously eliminated the head of the unit, Muhammad Ja’far Qassir in Beirut in early October 2024, and his fresh replacement, Ali Hassan Gharib, in Damascus several weeks later.

The IDF also eliminated the terrorist who headed the engineering for Hezbollah in the Al-Adaysa compound.

In a first, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) says they foiled an attempted rocket launch at Israel, seized the rocket launchers, and arrested several suspects. (This was likely a non-Hezbollah terror group.)

In what might be even harder to believe, a source in the Lebanese government told the Lebanese “Nada’ Al-Watan” newspaper that Hezbollah has begun the process of handing their weapons over to the LAF, and disarming. It’s definitely too early to get excited about this, or believe that Hezbollah will fully disarm, but it is a strong sign that for the first time it is becoming a real possibility.

Syria:

IDF Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited IDF troops in Syria, for an assessment.

Addressing the troops and commanders, he said, “This space is a vital space. We entered here because Syria fell apart, and therefore we hold key points and are on the front line to best protect ourselves. From this place we see everyone on this ridge – this is a strategic point. We don’t know how things will develop here, but our hold here has an extremely important security significance.”

Yemen:

The Houthis in Yemen launched a ballistic missile at Israel, on early Friday morning. Sirens were activated in most of Central Israel, from the Tel Aviv area to Jerusalem, sending millions to shelter. The missile was intercepted by air defenses.

The U.S. has continued with harsh airstrikes against the Houthis. Despite Houthi posturing and refusal to give up, it’s becoming clear that they are suffering heavy blows. Ballistic issue attacks on Israel have decreased from 1-2 daily, to 1-2 weekly.

There are rumors that Houthi enemies (most likely from other areas of Yemen) are preparing a ground invasion to topple the terrorist regime. The Houthis are preparing by planting land mines (Ynet).

Iran:

The second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, aimed at achieving a nuclear deal, took place on Shabbat in Italy. The U.S. updated Netanyahu’s team on the content of the talks.

Axios quotes a senior U.S. official: “Today, in Rome over four hours in our second round of talks, we made very good progress in our direct and indirect discussions. We agreed to meet again next week, and are grateful to our Omani partners for facilitating these talks and to our Italian partners for hosting us today.”

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom reported that an American official told them that Israel should not be concerned about the talks, because the moment the U.S. lays their demands the table, the negotiations are expected to collapse. Other sources tell Israel Hayom that America is sticking to it’s original core demands, in which Iran fully dismantles nuclear operations following the Libyan model, halts ballistic missile production, and halts funding terror proxies across the Middle East.

While the U.S. insiders claim that the negotiation team and Trump know what they’e doing, Israel is primarily concerned that Iran will succeed in drawing out the talks for as long as possible, until it’s too late to stop them.

Israel has not stopped planning and preparing for an attack on Iran. There are assumptions that Israel may choose to attack on its own, in a scaled down but effective version, if the talks do go on for too long while danger looms. This would be a huge diplomatic risk for Israel, but would not be the first (or second) time Israel destroys an enemy’s nuclear ambitions against the advice of friends in America.

Large shipments of weapons from the U.S. are quietly arriving at the Nevatim Air Force base, spurring assumptions that they include many heavy bombs in preparation for attacking Iran.

Other:

Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar is expected to resign mid-May

This update is sponsored by an anonymous reader, for a refuah shelaimah for those who are ill in our community, and all of Am Yisrael.