KEY POINTS
- Australia seeks more evidence from Israel over UNRWA allegations
- Israeli Air Force says 'hundreds' of aircraft ready to respond should Hezbollah wage all-out war
- IDF says it targeted Hezbollah commander in drone strike that killed at least 3
The war in Gaza has entered its 126th day, and cracks are starting to show in the stalwart U.S.-Israel alliance as the White House expressed opposition to an Israeli military campaign in Rafah, saying it would be a "disaster" for over a million civilians in the overcrowded southern Gaza city. The international community remains concerned about tensions in the Middle East as Iranian-backed Houthis refuse to halt attacks on Red Sea ships.
In one of his most significant rebukes of the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) military campaign in Gaza, U.S. President Joe Biden said he deems the offensive has been "over the top." His comments come as the Israeli army's ground forces move toward Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where thousands of civilians have sought shelter since the war started.
- Meta suspends Facebook, Instagram accounts of Iran's Supreme Leader
- Israel intercepts suspicious target over northern Israeli port city of Haifa: Local media
- Protesters gather at Nitzana crossing in call to block Gaza aid until hostages freed
- Iranian militias reportedly moving weapons to Syrian-Lebanese border
- Israel reportedly conducting strikes in Damascus vicinity: Arab media
Fighting also continues in the Israeli-Lebanese border. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hamas ally and Iran-backed Hezbollah, claimed early Friday that the heavily armed terror group attacked the Israeli army's Biranit barracks in northern Israel.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Thursday conducted new "self-defense" strikes targeting unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and missiles belonging to the Yemeni Houthi rebel militia.
Back in Gaza, the loved ones of 136 hostages still being held in Gaza pile pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the international community to free the remaining abductees, of which 31 have died in captivity.
Netanyahu has rejected a ceasefire plan by Hamas, diminishing hopes for truce negotiations to proceed. His unwavering rejection of Hamas' demand to completely withdraw IDF troops from Gaza as a means of ending the war draws from the violent Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has dragged on for decades.
The deep-rooted conflict erupted on Oct. 7, when Hamas operatives conducted a shock invasion in Israel, murdering more than 1,200 people and dragging some 240 hostages into the Gaza Strip.
UNICEF urges restraint in Rafah, notes 'indiscriminate effects' of military operations
The UN's children's agency, UNICEF, has called on "all parties to the conflict" to refrain from engaging in fighting in Rafah, an overcrowded city in southern Gaza where thousands of displaced Gaza civilians are sheltering.
UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell in a statement appealed on the warring sides to "refrain from military escalation" in the city, saying there are over 600,000 displaced children and their families.
"Military operations in densely populated residential areas can have indiscriminate effects," she warned." She also noted the importance of "taking the utmost care to spare civilians" and meet the essential needs of the Rafah masses.
Israel conducting strikes in Syria: Arab report
Israel is carrying out strikes on the vicinity of Damascus, the Syrian capital, Sky News Arabia reported Friday, citing unnamed Israeli sources.
This comes about a week after Iranian media reported that Saeid Alidadi, an adviser of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was killed in an Israeli missile attack south of Damascus.
Iranian militias transporting weapons to Hezbollah sites on Syrian-Lebanese border: Report
Iranian militias are currently transporting weapons and ammunition from Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria to Hezbollah posts on the Syria-Lebanon border "in anticipation of American strikes," Sky News Arabia reported Friday, citing nonprofit Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
White House warns Israeli operation in Rafah would be a 'disaster'
The White House warned that a military operation in Gaza's Rafah "at this time" would be a "disaster," seemingly indicating a widening gap in the U.S.-Israeli alliance.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby clarified in a media briefing Thursday that Washington has yet to see an Israeli "plan" of an "imminent" ground raid into the overcrowded southern Gaza city.
However, "any such plan, when you have more than a million folks that have been displaced out there, any such plan would have to factor in a responsible military plan," he said.
Finally, Kirby said given the current circumstances of a million civilians sheltering in the city, "we think a military operation at this time would be a disaster for these people."
Tune in for a briefing with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. https://t.co/fbc5FhNqXJ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 8, 2024
Protesters block humanitarian aid entry at Nitzana crossing
Protesters on Friday morning demonstrated at the Nitzana border crossing in a bid to block the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza.
פעילי צו 9 חוסמים בשעה זו את מעבר ניצנה נחסם ומונעים מעבר של מאות משאיות סיוע הומניטרי לעזה.@shapira_nitzan pic.twitter.com/OCB6SK5LZF
— החדשות - N12 (@N12News) February 9, 2024
Demonstrations across Israel over the past two weeks have focused on protesters' call to halt aid entry into the Gaza Strip until all hostages are freed. Some protests turned chaotic, specifically at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, when over a dozen demonstrators were detained for questioning last week.
Suspicious target intercepted over Haifa: Local media
A suspicious target was intercepted over Haifa, a northern Israel port city, on Friday morning, local media reported. No siren was activated in the incident, but residents in the area reported hearing an explosion.
Meta blocks Iranian leader's Facebook, Instagram accounts
Meta has suspended the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei amid mounting pressure from the international community to boot Khamenei from the social media platforms since the Israel-Hamas war started.
The accounts were removed "for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy," a spokesperson for Meta told AFP.
Read the full story here.
Israeli strike on car in Nabatieh kills Hezbollah commander: Reports
At least three people were killed when an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, on Thursday, multiple outlets reported, citing Lebanese state media NNA.
The IDF has since told CNN that the strike was carried out on a "Hezbollah commander who was involved in a number of (rocket) launches toward the areas of Kiryat Shmona and Metula in northern Israel."
Hezbollah has yet to confirm if one of its commanders was killed in the strike, but Arab media reports have since said Abbas Al-Dabs, a Hezbollah operative with links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was the individual killed in the attack.
Al-Dabs is accused of helping Iran establish air defenses in Syria, local outlets reported, citing Arabic media.
'Hundreds' of Israeli aircraft ready to respond if Hezbollah wages full-blown war: IAF chief
Amid ongoing fire exchanges between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in the tension-packed Israel-Lebanon border, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) is confident it can defend the country should the Iranian-backed terror group, which is a much larger force than Hamas, initiate an all-out war in Israel's northern front.
"The dozens of aircraft currently operating in the skies of Lebanon are only part of our capabilities. Once the order is given, my intention is for these dozens to become hundreds of aircraft capable of executing all missions within minutes," IAF commander Maj. Gen. Tomer said Thursday, as per CNN.
This comes as Hezbollah has been launching near-daily missile attacks toward northern Israeli communities, displacing thousands of civilians.
Australia seeks more evidence from Israel over UNRWA staff allegations
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Thursday revealed that the country has sought further evidence from Israel after the latter alleged that 12 staffers of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) directly participated in Hamas' Oct. 7 carnage.
Wong told ABC's 7.30 that Israel has yet to respond to her request for more proof of its claims. She was also pressed on why she didn't ask UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini regarding evidence the agency may have since it said an investigation was underway. Wong reiterated that she already asked Israel, adding that the allegations were "serious."
She went on to note that the "primary concern" of Australia at this point was to help ensure that confidence in UNRWA is restored, particularly among donors that suspended funding to the agency after Israel's exposé.
US conducts new strikes against Houthi assets
The U.S. on Thursday conducted a series of strikes targeting Houthi assets in Houthi-held areas of Yemen that "presented an imminent threat" to U.S. Navy warships and shipping activity in the Red Sea, CENTCOM said early Friday.
Among the assets attacked were four USVs and seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that were ready to launch toward merchant vessels in the Red Sea.
Feb. 8 Summary of USCENTCOM Self-Defense Strikes in Yemen
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 9, 2024
On Feb. 8, between the hours of 5 a.m. – 9 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted seven self-defense strikes against four Houthi unmanned surface vessels (USV) and seven mobile anti-ship cruise… pic.twitter.com/5qKArWfj7G
This comes after U.S. forces struck Houthi missiles earlier this week in response to the Yemeni rebel militia's attacks on Red Sea commercial shipping operations.
Hezbollah claims attack on IDF Galilee HQ
Hezbollah's leader Nasrallah early on Friday claimed that the Lebanon-based terror group attacked the Israeli army's Biranit barracks, which is the IDF's Galilee Division headquarters, located only around a kilometer from the Israeli-Lebanese border.
The IDF has yet to confirm the Iranian-backed militant group's claim.
Biden: Israel's response to Oct. 7 massacre 'over the top'
The U.S. president has called the Israeli army's offensive in the Gaza Strip as "over the top." His comments come at a critical time for Israel as the IDF's push toward Rafah raises concerns about the impact on civilian communities in the overcrowded city.
"I'm of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top," he said during a Thursday night press briefing. Biden went on to reveal that he has been "pushing really hard" to get more humanitarian aid into the war-torn enclave.
President Biden calls Israel's conduct in Gaza "over the top," and says he is "pushing very hard" for a sustained pause to the fighting. pic.twitter.com/59En2DfFVB
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 9, 2024
At this point, the White House is "pushing very hard" to secure a ceasefire-hostage agreement, Biden added, amid mounting pressure from desperate loved ones of remaining abductees in Gaza to see them freed.
