KEY POINTS
- Hamas says 2 Israeli hostages killed in Israeli bombardment
- Bahraini hackers claim to have 'seized' US Navy 5th Fleet documents
- Iranian semi-official Tasnim news retracts report on 9 Pakistanis killed in Iran
It's Day 129 of the Israel-Hamas war. A Bahraini hacker group claimed they breached the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet system which is responsible for around 2.5 million square miles that include the Red and Arabian Seas.
Egypt, a key mediator alongside Qatar in talks for a ceasefire agreement, reportedly issued an ultimatum to Hamas, telling the Palestinian terror group that it has two weeks to reach a truce deal or face the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza.
The IDF announced that ground troops rescued two elderly hostages who were being held by a Palestinian faction in Rafah, an overcrowded city where more than a million Gaza civilians have sought refuge since the war started.
- 'Enough' hostages still in Gaza to 'warrant' Israel's offensive: Netanyahu
- Houthis claim attack on 'American' bulk carrier Star Iris
- Vessel attacked off Yemen earlier Monday has reported 'minor damage': UKMTO
- Netherlands ordered to halt F-35 parts exports to Israel within 7 days
- Local Hezbollah leader, one other member, killed in Israeli drone strike: Arab media
- Rafah raid will be conducted 'when conditions allow': IDF spokesperson's unit chief
In Israel's northern border with Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said the Iranian-backed militant group attacked five Israeli army assets throughout Sunday. He said Hezbollah, a Hamas ally based in Lebanon, has carried out over 1,000 operations targeting Israel since the war started.
Attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea persist amid ongoing unrest in the region. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Monday that a merchant ship had been targeted by two missiles.
Over the weekend, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted "self-defense strikes" against missiles and unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in areas of Yemen controlled by the Yemeni Houthi rebel militia, another Iranian-backed terror group that has been running amok in the Red Sea since mid-November.
Despite international calls for restraint in Rafah, including from Israel's main western ally, the U.S., Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled determination in the Israeli army's supposed plan to conduct a ground raid in the southern city. His resolute stance on the fighting in Gaza stems from decades of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Meanwhile, the embattled United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) denied that it was aware a Hamas tunnel was constructed under its Gaza City headquarters after the IDF uncovered a tunnel system beneath the facility.
The four-month war started on Oct. 7, when Hamas operatives invaded Israel, murdering more than 1,200 Israelis and foreigners. The group also abducted some 240 hostages, over 130 of which are still being held in Gaza.
Israeli army will conduct ground operation in Rafah 'when conditions allow': Top IDF official
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, chief of the IDF spokesperson's unit, on Monday said the two elderly hostages rescued by Israeli ground troops from Rafah were "intentionally in the middle of a civilian neighborhood, inside a civilian building to try and prevent us from rescuing them."
Hagari said the hostages were held in harsh conditions. They went through medical examination and have finally been reunited with their families in Israel.
Addressing concerns regarding Israel's plan to launch a ground offensive in the overcrowded city of Rafah, Hagari said Monday's rescue mission "underscores the importance of our ground operation in Gaza, including Rafah, when conditions allow." He said the Israeli army has a "moral obligation" to bring all of the country's hostages back home.
“This rescue mission underscores the importance of our ground operation in Gaza. We have a moral obligation to bring all our hostages home, an obligation that we will continue doing everything in our power to fulfill.”
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 12, 2024
Watch the full statement by IDF Spokesperson RAdl. Daniel… pic.twitter.com/M29G46pJw1
2 Hezbollah members killed in Israeli drone strike, including local leader: Arab report
Initial reports Monday revealed that two Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli raid on Maroun al-Ras, located in Jabal Amel in southern Lebanon's Bint Jbeil district, Sky News Arabia reported.
The drone attack reportedly targeted a local "Hezbollah leader" the outlet reported, as per a Google translation.There are reports that the said leader was Muhammad Abd al-Rasul Alawiyah, the Lebanese terror group's leader in the Maroun al-Ras region.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which has been launching missiles toward northern Israeli communities since the war started, has yet to officially confirm the report.
Dutch court orders halt to F-35 jet parts to Israel: Report
A Dutch appeals court has ordered the government to halt all exports of parts of F-35 warplanes to Israel amid a "clear risk the exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law," Reuters reported Monday.
The Netherlands government is expected to comply with the order within seven days.
Vessel attacked off Yemen reported minor damage: UKMTO
The ship attacked by two missiles off Al Mukha in Yemen earlier in the day reported "minor damage," UKMTO said in an update Monday. The ship and crew are safe, as per the maritime monitoring agency.
Houthis claim attack on 'American' ship in Red Sea
Houthis on Monday claimed an attack on "the American ship 'Star Iris' as part of its "vindication" of the Palestinian people and "as a retaliation to the American-British" strikes that the allied nations said were carried out in self-defense.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Sare'e said "suitable naval missiles" were used in the "accurate" attacks. The Star Iris is a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, as per data from Marine Traffic.
The U.S. army has yet to confirm or deny the claim.
Iranian outlet withdraws report on killed Pakistanis in Iran
The Iranian government's semi-official Tasnim news agency on Sunday reported that at least nine Pakistanis were killed in southeastern Iran. The outlet has since withdrawn its report, as per Reuters.
"The alert and story on Pakistanis killed in Iran was wrong and is withdrawn," Reuters wrote on its update regarding the Iranian report.
This comes a few weeks after Iran and Pakistan carried out tit-for-tat strikes that Iran initiated. The neighboring nations have since decided agreed to exercise restraint and returned envoys they recalled following the strikes that both countries said targeted terror factions.
Hackers claim attack on US Navy system
A hacker group from Bahrain on Sunday claimed they gained access to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet system and "seized hundreds of secret correspondence" belonging to the said Navy fleet.
In a series of posts on X, the group, which goes by Al-Toufan, said the documents they revealed were only "a small part" of what they acquired through the system breach. "What we have is greater, and it will reach those concerned," the group said.
The hack was carried out to "target the moral support and social welfare services of the U.S. Navy of Bahrain" and to show support for the Palestinian people in Gaza, Al-Toufan claimed.
#الطوفان_في_الأسطول_الأمريكي_الخامس
— ALTOUFAN TEAM (@altoufanteam) February 11, 2024
ALTOUFAN IN US FIFTH FLEET pic.twitter.com/Hxn0w5IRL3
The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which covers the Persian Gulf, Red and Arabian Seas, and parts of the Indian Ocean, has yet to confirm or deny the claim.
In November, the same hacker group claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on two websites of the Bahraini government. At the time, they said the attack was carried out due to Bahrain's stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
Hamas claims 2 Israeli hostages killed by Israeli bombardment
Two Israeli hostages were killed and eight others were injured due to Israeli strikes in Gaza in the past four days, multiple outlets reported, citing a Hamas statement on the group's Telegram channel.
The conditions of hostages "are becoming more dangerous in light of the inability to provide them with appropriate treatment," the Iran-backed terror group said, adding that Israel "bears full responsibility" for the lives of the abductees, as well as those injured in Israeli bombardment.
Israel has yet to confirm Hamas' claims.
UNRWA 'did not know' there was a Hamas tunnel under HQ: Lazzarini
Philippe Lazzarini, chief of the embattled UNRWA, on Sunday said the agency "did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza," adding that the humanitarian aid agency has not used the Gaza City compound since staffers departed the facility on Oct. 12 under the IDF's evacuation orders.
He went on to reveal that in the past, "protest letters were promptly filed to parties to the conflict" whenever "suspicious cavity" was detected close to or under UNRWA facilities. Media reports related to the matter "merit an independent inquiry" that cannot be undertaken at this point considering the war in Gaza, he said.
- UNRWA did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) February 10, 2024
- UNRWA is made aware of reports through the media regarding a tunnel under the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza.
- UNRWA staff left its headquarters in Gaza City on 12 October following the Israeli evacuation orders and as…
His comments came hours after the Israeli army unveiled what it said was a "tunnel shaft near an UNRWA school, leading to an underground terrorist tunnel beneath UNRWA's main headquarters."
The IDF added that its ground forces found "electrical infrastructure inside the tunnel connected to UNRWA's main HQ, suggesting it was supplying the tunnel with electricity – generated by the fuel provided through humanitarian aid."
These findings were found within @UNRWA facilities:
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 10, 2024
Acting on ISA intelligence, the forces discovered a tunnel shaft near an UNRWA school, leading to an underground terrorist tunnel beneath UNRWA's main headquarters. The forces found electrical infrastructure inside the tunnel… pic.twitter.com/n5EWJpyI4o
There are 'enough' hostages in Gaza to 'warrant' war: Netanyahu
The Israeli prime minister on Sunday told ABC's "This Week" that there were "enough" hostages still in Gaza "to warrant the kind of efforts that we're doing."
He added that the Israeli army will keep giving its best "to get all those who are alive back, and frankly, also the bodies of the dead."
Asked how many of the remaining hostages in Gaza are still alive, Netanyahu says: “Enough to warrant the kind of efforts that we're doing.”
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 11, 2024
“We're going to try to do our best to get all those who are alive back, and frankly, also the bodies of the dead.” https://t.co/byJwn4gQjJ pic.twitter.com/rHJAh9QrVf
His comments came amid increasing international calls for restraint in Rafah, given the circumstances in the area wherein thousands of Palestinians are believed to have evacuated to since the war started.
Ship off Yemen attacked by 2 missiles: UKMTO
A commercial vessel transiting around 40 nautical miles south of Al Mukha in Yemen was "attacked by two missiles" early Monday, the UKMTO said. The crew are reported safe and the ship has since proceeded to its next port of call.
British maritime security firm Ambrey said the attack targeted a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier as it transited through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The security company added that the bulker was reportedly headed to the Iranian city of Bandar Imam Khomeini.
UKMTO WARNING
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) February 12, 2024
INCIDENT 029 Update 001 https://t.co/XsgrK5uW2N#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/DqP9vcptKg
"The group owner and operator regularly trade bulk cargo with Iran, so this was assessed to be the likely destination," Ambrey added.
This comes after the U.S. conducted new "self-defense strikes" targeting missiles and USVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
US strikes Houthi assets in 'self-defense' operation
U.S. forces on Saturday carried out "self-defense strikes" against two USVs and three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) identified in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, the U.S. army said Sunday.
The missiles were "prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea," and were deemed to present an imminent threat to commercial ships and U.S. Navy warships in the region.
Feb. 10 Summary of USCENTCOM Self-Defense Strikes in Yemen
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 11, 2024
On Feb. 10, between 4 – 5 p.m., (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully conducted self-defense strikes against two unmanned surface vessels (USV) and three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM)… pic.twitter.com/8OMJRXiw79
Hezbollah claims it has carried out more than 1,000 operations since Oct. 7
Nasrallah early on Monday said Hezbollah attacked five sites and assets of the Israeli army, including an IDF site in the Kafr Shuba hills in the Shebaa Farms area, which is a disputed land area between Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
He also said in a statement on X that the Iranian-backed terror group has carried out 1,013 operations from Oct. 8, 2023 through Feb. 11, 2024.
2 hostages rescued from Rafah: IDF
The Israeli army early on Monday announced that ground forces rescued two elderly hostages from Rafah, identifying the rescued abductees as 60-year-old Fernando Simon Marman and 70-year-old Louis Har.
The two were "kidnapped by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7th from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak," the IDF said. The two are "both in good medical condition" and have been transported to the Sheba Tel Hashomer hospital for further medical evaluation.
The forum of families of hostages still being held in Gaza posted photos of the rescued hostages.
Read the full story here.
EXCITING NEWS!!!
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) February 12, 2024
It was cleared for publication that during a joint IDF, ISA, and Israel Police operation in Rafah, overnight, two Israeli hostages were rescued, Fernando Simon Marman (60) and Louis Har (70), who were kidnapped by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7th… pic.twitter.com/SRo5R9QyIy
Egypt reportedly tells Hamas: Reach a ceasefire in 2 weeks or Israel will raid Rafah
Egypt, which has been mediating alongside Qatar in hopes of securing a ceasefire in Gaza, reportedly warned Hamas that the terror group has two weeks to reach a truce or Israel will pursue a ground invasion of Rafah, the overcrowded southern Gaza city, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
This comes amid increasing concerns over the Israeli army's move toward Rafah, where over a million civilians are sheltering amid fighting the northern and central parts of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has not provided a specific timeline about its supposed plan to conduct a ground offensive in the city, but Egyptian mediators reportedly estimate the Israeli military may be prepared to launch a ground campaign in two weeks.
