February 9, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza has moved here.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias in the country, says it will resume attacks on US targets and expel US troops from the country.

In a statement Friday night it said that the US, who it refers to as the occupying enemy, understands nothing but the “language of weapons” and that recent US strikes in Iraq including the killing of senior Kataib Hezbollah commander Wisam Mohammed Saber al-Saedi in Baghdad on Wednesday “violated the rules of engagement.”

The IRI will respond with “strikes and broad attacks,” it said, and called on others to join the resistance. It also said it was turning all efforts to “expelling the occupation at this historical state in Iraq and the region.”

At around the same time Friday night, the Kataib Hezbollah militia, one of the most powerful armed factions in the IRI, vowed revenge for the killing of their commander Al-Saedi in a post on Telegram.

“It is the stage of revenge, and liberation and hell is coming,” it said.

Late last month, Kataib Hezbollah said it was suspending its military operations against US forces in the region two days after a drone attack killed three US service members and wounded dozens of others.

The US, however, vowed to respond to the US soldier deaths, and has conducted deadly retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria in the last week to that end.

Kataib Hezbollah is not just part of the IRI, it is also part of the Hashd al Shaabi – or Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) – a predominantly Shiite Iran-backed paramilitary force based in Iraq. Unlike other Iran-backed groups around the region, the PMU is tied to the Iraqi government and officially falls under the authority of the Iraqi military forces.

A medical doctor inside the Nasser Medical complex in Khan Younis said in a video Friday that the situation in the area is “very dangerous” and movement is restricted, adding that medical staff cannot move from one hospital building to another due to the fighting. 

Ahmed Moghrabi, the head of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Nasser Hospital, posted the video on his Instagram account. Gunfire and the sound of drones flying overhead can be heard in the video, which has been geolocated by CNN, as Moghrabi points his camera to show an empty street in the Gaza city, saying “We can’t move at all.”

In a statement Thursday, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health warned of a “health and humanitarian crisis” as a result of what it described as an Israeli “siege and targeting,” adding that there are 300 medical staff, 450 injured people and 10,000 displaced people in the Nasser Medical complex.

The Israeli military on Friday said troops were “continuing to conduct targeted raids in western Khan Yunis.”

CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman contributed reporting.

Israeli ground forces detained eight members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), including four doctors, at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis on Friday, the group said.

Four wounded individuals were also detained along with five of the patients’ companions at the hospital, PRCS said in a statement Friday.

Israeli forces were in the hospital for approximately 10 hours, PRCS said.

“They conducted a search of the hospital, damaged some equipment, furniture, and appliances, detained, interrogated, beat, and humiliated the teams, and prevented them and patients’ companions from drinking and using the bathroom,” the statement read.

Asked for comment on the claims, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded with a statement neither confirming nor denying the detentions but said its forces “prioritize the safety of civilians, patients, medical workers, and medical facilities during the operation.” 

The Israeli military also claimed Hamas is conducting activities in the hospital and that Israeli forces began an operation to locate Hamas members and dismantle the group’s infrastructure in the vicinity.

CNN is unable to independently verify the claims made by either side at Al-Amal Hospital.

Around 220 patients and staff were at the Al-Amal hospital Friday, the PRCS said in an earlier statement.

People walk along a crowded street in Rafah, Gaza, on February 8.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned about the repercussions of forcibly evacuating displaced Palestinians in Rafah as Israel plans a military escalation in the southern Gaza city.

“Forcing the over one million displaced Palestinians in Rafah to again evacuate without a safe place to go would be unlawful and would have catastrophic consequences,” HRW refugee and migrant rights researcher Nadia Hardman said. “There is nowhere safe to go in Gaza. The international community should take action to prevent further atrocities.”

HRW said the Israeli military has a responsibility to protect civilians whether they evacuate or not.

“Civilians who do not evacuate following warnings are still fully protected by international humanitarian law,” HRW said. “Many civilians may be unable to heed a warning to evacuate for reasons of health, disability, fear, or lack of any place else to go.”

HRW’s statement comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the Israeli forces to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah, adding the Israeli military would “soon go into Rafah, Hamas’s last bastion.” 

The speaker of the Israeli parliament on Friday canceled a meeting scheduled with Secretary-General António Guterres because of the UN leader’s call for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.

“I intended to try and convince, as well as hand [the UN Secretary General] a book we prepared in the Knesset, documenting [October 7] with still images,” Amir Ohana said in a statement. “But yesterday he again called on the State of Israel to stop fighting, criticizing it ‘even if Hamas uses human shields.’”

Guterres said Thursday the level of destruction and number of people killed in Gaza show that “there is something wrong in the way the military operations are being conducted.”

Responding to a reporter who said Hamas is hiding within the civilian population, Guterres reiterated his condemnation of the use of human shields, adding that the protection of civilians is a must even in those circumstances. 

“I even said [the use of human shields is] a violation of international humanitarian law, but the same humanitarian international law is clear that even when there are human shields, there is an obligation to protect civilians,” he said. “In that regard, I think we are abiding by principle without double standards.”

In a news conference held after Ohana’s statement, Guterres’ spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters the secretary general’s office knew about the cancelation first through the media before receiving an official notification, adding that Guterres’ statement on Thursday was not new.

A woman and children sit outside tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza, on February 8.

The United Nations is “extremely worried about the fate of civilians in Rafah,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Friday as Israel began drawing up an evacuation plan for the estimated 1.3 million Palestinians living in the southern Gaza city.

Speaking at his daily news briefing, Dujarric said people “need to be protected,” but added that the UN also “does not want to see any forced mass displacement, of people, which is by definition against their will.”

UN Humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths also issued a statement Friday urging for the protection of civilians.

Griffiths added that Rafah’s population of over 1 million people “have endured unthinkable suffering” and have been moving for months. 

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed Israel’s military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah, his office said in a statement, ahead of an anticipated ground assault.

The post was updated with the statement from Martin Griffiths.

CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to travel to Cairo for a Tuesday meeting on the ongoing Gaza hostage negotiations, according to two sources familiar with the plans. 

One of the sources said Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Israel’s Mossad Director David Barnea are also expected to attend.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans for a military escalation in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.

A statement issued by the Palestinian Authority’s presidential office said the real aim of Netanyahu’s dual proposal to evacuate people from the overcrowded city of Rafah is to displace the Palestinian people from their land. 

The presidency denounced the potential forcible displacement of Palestinians from Rafah, already burdened with hundreds of thousands of displaced people from northern Gaza, as a “real threat” and “dangerous prelude” to implementing Israeli policies aimed at displacing Palestinians from their land. 

Mohammad Jamal Abu Tour speaks to CNN on February 9 in Rafah, Gaza.

Palestinians in Rafah told CNN they have nowhere to go if Israel were to enter the city in southern Gaza, located near the border with Egypt.

“We are praying to God that what happened in Gaza City does not happen in Rafah –because if the same happens in Rafah we will have no place to go,” Mohammad Jamal Abu Tour said Friday. “Where are we going to go? To Egypt? Only God knows if they will welcome us or not.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday directed the military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah, his office said in a statement. On Thursday, he said the Israel Defense Forces would “soon go into Rafah, Hamas’s last bastion.” 

Mahmoud Khalil Amer, who was displaced from the Al Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, said his staying in a tent near a cemetery in Rafah. 

“I am basically sleeping next to the dead,” he said. “It feels like hell, I feel all the pain, we are not living, the dead are better than us,” he said. “They are rested. But for us, our lives are torture, we can hardly get any water, we don’t have any money. The situation is very bad. The people who used to have stable jobs and income are now suffering and their situation is horrible.”

Abu Mohamed El-Helw, displaced from Khan Younis, said that “there is no place left” for people in Rafah to go “unless they open the borders and let us out.” 

El-Helw said people “are tired from the war” and have become “used to” threats from Israel. 

More than 1.3 million people are believed to be in Rafah, the majority displaced from other parts of Gaza, according to the United Nations. 

CNN’s Mick Krever contributed reporting.

Moody’s Investors Service warned Thursday it could downgrade Israel’s credit rating due to the severity of the military conflict with Hamas.

A downgrade could make it more expensive for Israel to borrow just as the country gears up for what could be a prolonged war.

“Israel’s credit profile has proven resilient to terrorist attacks and military conflict in the past,” Moody’s said. “However, the severity of the current military conflict raises the possibility of longer lasting and material credit impact.”

Moody’s said its review will focus on the duration and scale of the conflict — and how it impacts Israel’s economy, institutions and public finances. The credit ratings firm said the review could take longer than the typical three-month period.

In July, before the deadly terror attacks by Hamas against Israel, Moody’s warned that a controversial overhaul of Israel’s judicial system risked plunging the country into further turmoil that could hurt its economy and security.

A Hamas delegation led by deputy leader Khalil Al-Hayya has left Cairo after talks on a potential Gaza ceasefire, a senior Hamas member told CNN.

They left as planned because discussions wrapped up, said the Hamas member, who did not reveal any details on the talks.  

Some background: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday dismissed Hamas’ proposals for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza as “delusional,” in a setback to diplomatic efforts to pause the war.

Speaking to reporters, Netanyahu insisted that there was no alternative to “complete victory” over Hamas in Gaza.

CCTV footage of an Israeli undercover operation on Ibn Sina hospital, in the occupied West Bank, last month.

An Israeli undercover operation on a hospital in the occupied West Bank last month may amount to a war crime, according to five United Nations special rapporteurs.  

“Killing a defenseless injured patient who is being treated in a hospital amounts to a war crime,” the experts said in a statement Friday.
“By disguising themselves as seemingly harmless, protected medical personnel and civilians, the Israeli forces also prima facie committed the war crime of perfidy, which is prohibited in all circumstances,” they continued.  

The experts said that outside active hostilities, “at most Israeli forces may have been entitled to arrest or detain them,” and were only entitled to use force “if strictly necessary to prevent an imminent threat to life or serious injury.”  

Mourners react next to the body of a Palestinian killed in the raid January 30.

About the deadly raid: On January 30, undercover Israeli forces infiltrated the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin and killed three Palestinian men, according to the hospital and the Palestinian state news agency.  

Dramatic CCTV video captured around a dozen commandos disguised as nurses, women in hijabs, and others, with one pushing a wheelchair and another carrying a baby car seat, as they stormed a hospital corridor carrying assault weapons.  

Hamas said the three men were sleeping at the time of the attack.

Last month, Israel’s Defense Forces chief of staff Herzi Halevi claimed the men who were shot and killed were involved in a terrorist cell planning to carry out a “serious attack” on Israeli civilians.  

The Israeli Security Agency, better known as Shabak, which conducted the raid was not immediately available for comment on the UN experts’ statement. 

CNN’s Abeer Salman and Richard Greene contributed reporting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the military to plan for the evacuation of the more than 1.3 million people the United Nations estimates are in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, his office said Friday.

In the statement, his office said that it was not possible to both eliminate Hamas and leave “four Hamas battalions in Rafah.”

Here’s what you need to about this and other developments in the Israel-Hamas war:

Where will the civilians go?: Rafah is the last major population center in Gaza not occupied by the Israel Defense Forces and it has rapidly become home to a huge population of displaced Palestinians. Satellite images showed this week how a tent city has swelled in size in just a few weeks. CNN has also previously reported on Palestinian civilians who followed evacuation orders being killed by Israeli strikes, underscoring the reality that evacuation zones and warning alerts from the Israeli military haven’t guaranteed safety for civilians in the densely populated Gaza Strip, where Palestinians have no safe place to escape Israeli bombs.

Here’s what the United States has said: “To conduct such an operation right now with no planning and little thought in an area where there is sheltering of a million people would be a disaster,” Deputy State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel told a news briefing Thursday. Also, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concerns about the expansion into Rafah during meetings with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials this week, two Israeli officials told CNN on Wednesday.

Non-governmental organizations issue warnings: Several non-governmental organizations have warned about the humanitarian consequences of Israeli operations in Rafah. For instance, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said the city, which borders Egypt, could soon turn “into a zone of bloodshed and destruction that people won’t be able to escape.”

Hostage families frustrated: With hopes for a new deal to return Israeli hostages from Gaza in doubt, many, including the families of those hostages still held by Hamas, have directed their anger at Netanyahu, who dismissed the terms of a ceasefire and hostage deal put forward by Hamas.

Half of UNRWA requests to deliver aid in Gaza denied: The UN’s main relief agency in Gaza said Friday that half of its aid mission requests to deliver aid in Gaza since the beginning of the year have been denied. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has not been able to deliver aid in Gaza since January 23, agency Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on X, adding that people in the territory are on the verge of famine.

A crowded street in Rafah, Gaza, on February 1.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah alongside the defeat of Hamas in that southern Gaza city, his office said in a statement on Friday. 

More than 1.3 million people are believed to be in Rafah, the majority displaced from other parts of Gaza, according to the United Nations. 

Netanyahu on Thursday said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would “soon go into Rafah, Hamas’s last bastion.”

In the statement issued Friday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that it was not possible to both eliminate Hamas and leave “four Hamas battalions in Rafah.”

“On the other hand, it is clear that a massive operation in Rafah requires the evacuation of the civilian population from the combat zones,” it added. “That is why the Prime Minister directed the IDF and the defense establishment to bring to the Cabinet a dual plan for both the evacuation of the population and the disbanding of the battalions.”

Rafah is the last major population center in Gaza not occupied by the IDF.

Previous reporting from CNN’s Ivana Kottasova in Khan Younis, Jennifer Hansler in Washington, and Vasco Cotovio and Lauren Kent in London.

Israeli forces in Gaza on Friday entered and began to search Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said in a statement.

“The occupation forces stormed Al-Amal Hospital and began to search it,” the PRCS said. The organization on Thursday reported “intense and continuous gunfire” near the hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not yet commented on the claim. CNN has asked the Israeli military about the operation. The IDF on Friday said that its troops were “continuing to conduct targeted raids in western Khan Yunis.”

Where things stand: Around 220 patients and staff remain at the hospital following an evacuation last week, according to the PRCS.

“We are facing difficulty communicating with our crews inside the hospital, as they are not responding via wireless communication devices,” the PRCS said. “It’s crucial to highlight that Khan Yunis has been experiencing a communication blackout for about a month.”

Around 8,000 displaced people were last week evacuated from Al Amal Hospital and PRCS’ Khan Younis headquarters, according to the PRCS.

Palestinians form a dense crowd on the streets of Rafah, Gaza, on February 8.

As civilians brace themselves for a potentially imminent Israeli incursion into the border city of Rafah, several non-governmental organizations have issued warnings about the humanitarian consequences for the city.

The Israel Defense Forces will “soon go into Rafah, Hamas’s last bastion,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. The US would not support an Israeli military operation in Rafah “without serious planning,” US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Thursday.

An estimated 1.3 million people are currently in Rafah, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has estimated.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC): Rafah could soon turn “into a zone of bloodshed and destruction that people won’t be able to escape,” it said in a press release Thursday. “Attacks in areas where they provide food, water and shelter means this life-saving support will be impeded, if not entirely stopped,” cautioned Angelita Caredda, an NRC regional director.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): The UN agency also shared its fears for the over 600,000 children sheltering in Rafah, many of whom have “been displaced from other parts of Gaza.”

As months of heavy fighting in the north have practically wiped out healthcare and humanitarian facilities in the north, officials are calling for the scant services that remain in the south to be protected.

“We need Gaza’s last remaining hospitals, shelters, markets and water systems to stay functional. Without them, hunger and disease will skyrocket, taking more child lives,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell implored in a statement published Thursday.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in New Delhi, India, on September 9.

Israel had bombed Rafah four times and damaged the crossing, therefore preventing the entry of aid into Gaza, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

“Egypt — from the first moment — opened the Rafah crossing on its part without restrictions or conditions, and mobilized humanitarian aid in large quantities … but the continued bombing of the Palestinian side of the crossing by Israel, which was repeated four times, prevented the entry of aid,” the statement said.

The statement was issued in response to US President Joe Biden’s remarks on Thursday, saying that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Sisi did not want to “open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in” but he “talked to him.”

The presidency said that once the Israeli bombing stopped, it repaired the crossing to allow the entry of aid into Gaza.

Families of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas and other protesters take part in a demonstration outside the Israeli cabinet meeting on February 8, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The deadly Hamas attacks of October 7 united a shocked, grieving Israel behind its leaders, burying at a stroke the divisions that had riven the country for years. Four months into the war and with hopes for a new deal to return Israeli hostages from Gaza in doubt, those divisions are re-emerging – and Israelis are increasingly ready to speak their mind.

Many, including the families of those hostages still held by Hamas, direct their anger toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who dismissed the terms of a ceasefire and hostage deal put forward by Hamas in forthright terms.

Survivors of the October 7 terror attack and the families of hostages were furious at the uncompromising repudiation of a deal that – ultimately – could have resulted in the return of all the remaining hostages in Gaza.

Adina Moshe, 72, who was released during a ceasefire deal agreed in November, was among five former hostages who spoke out against Netanyahu on Wednesday.

“Mr. Netanyahu, I’m turning to you. It’s all in your hands. You are the one. And I’m really afraid that if you continue the way you do, the destruction of Hamas, there won’t be any hostages to release,” Moshe said at a news conference for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Read more about how families of hostages held by Hamas are speaking out against Israel’s handling of negotiations.

Palestinians line up for food aid in Khan Younis, Gaza, on February 2.

The UN’s main relief agency in Gaza said Friday that half of its aid mission requests to deliver aid in Gaza since the beginning of the year have been denied.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has not been able to deliver aid in Gaza since January 23, agency Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on X, adding that people in the territory are on the verge of famine.

“The @UN has identified deep pockets of starvation and hunger in northern #Gaza where people are believed to be on the verge of famine,” Lazzarini said. “At least 300,000 people living in the area depend on our assistance for their survival. Preventing access prevents lifesaving humanitarian aid. With the necessary political will, this can be easily reversed.”

The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) warned Thursday on X that “2.2 million people in Gaza live in inhumane conditions, facing starvation, famine, disease” and “the winter cold is adding to their suffering.”

Remember: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that the UNRWA mission “has to end” following allegations by Israel that some of its staff were involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack.

The UN Secretary General has appointed a group to conduct an independent review of UNRWA, which will be done alongside a current investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services into the allegations. A spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Friday welcomed the review, but said that the probe was “long overdue” and questioned its scope.

CNN has reached out to Israel’s Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories and Israeli Defense Forces for comment on Lazzarini’s statement.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks during a press conference at Israel's Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 18.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday to discuss the ongoing operations in Gaza, including the military’s “major efforts” focused on the southern part of the enclave, according to the readout from the Israeli Minister of Defense’s office. 

The discussion between Gallant and Austin follows comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week that Israeli soldiers will soon shift the focus of their offensive to Rafah, a southern Gaza Strip city close to the border with Egypt, despite US concerns.

“Minister Gallant opened the discussion by expressing his sincere condolences following the passing of five U.S. Marines,” said the readout, released on Friday. “In this regard, he emphasized the importance of U.S. leadership in addressing Iran’s regional aggression and ambitions.”

Gallant also reiterated the Israeli military’s war aims, “including the return of hostages and the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities,” according to the readout. 

“Minister Gallant briefed the Secretary on developments in the war against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, detailing the IDF’s ongoing operations above and under the ground, with major efforts focused on the southern Gaza region,” the Minister of Defense’s office added. 

US President Joe Biden on Thursday said Israel’s military operation to go after Hamas had been “over the top” as he highlighted the plight of Palestinians who have endured heavy bombardment and a lack of essential supplies.

“I’ve been pushing really hard — really hard — to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. A lot of innocent people are starving. A lot innocent people in trouble and dying. And it’s got to stop,” Biden said.

Biden also voiced optimism that a deal currently being brokered pairing the release of hostages with a prolonged pause in the fighting could eventually lead to a more sustained change in the war.

His remarks come after a State Department spokesperson said the US would not support an Israeli military operation in Rafah “without serious planning” around the more than a million displaced civilians crammed into the southern Gaza city.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the military “is preparing to fight in Rafah.”

Here are the latest developments in the region:

President Joe Biden speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington DC on February 8.

US President Joe Biden late Thursday offered one of his sharpest rebukes to date of Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, saying the operation to go after Hamas had been “over the top.”

He also voiced optimism that a deal currently being brokered pairing the release of hostages with a prolonged pause in the fighting could eventually lead to a more sustained change in the war.

And he painted a stark portrait of the suffering in Gaza, insisting more must be done to stem the humanitarian crisis there.

Delivered at the very end of a fiery evening news conference, Biden’s remarks offered a new window into his view of the four-month conflict, which has tested American diplomacy and exposed divisions within his Democratic coalition.

“I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza – in the Gaza Strip – has been over the top,” Biden told reporters at the White House, describing his own efforts to open up Gaza so more humanitarian aid could flow in.

His assessment of the Israeli military campaign as excessive marked a new stage in Biden’s public posturing on the war. For much of the months since October 7, Biden has embraced Israel and staunchly defended its right to go after Hamas.

Read the full story.

The US military carried out further strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Thursday, US Central Command said in a statement.

The strikes hit four unmanned surface vessels and seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that “presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region,” CENTCOM said on social media platform X. 

Coalition strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis have destroyed or degraded more than 100 missiles and launchers since January 11, a Pentagon spokesperson said at a briefing earlier Thursday.

The Houthis have said they will not stop their attacks on Red Sea shipping until Israel ends its war in Gaza.

The Israeli Air Force said Thursday that dozens of its aircraft deployed over Lebanon could “turn into hundreds” ready to operate within minutes from launch.

“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, from launching operations over the skies of Lebanon,” Israeli Air Force Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar said in front of military personnel.

Bar said that in case of a war in Lebanon, “the term ‘attack’ does not fully capture what will occur.”

Bar said that massive strikes would target ” hundreds of locations simultaneously, including deep within the country.”

In an earlier statement, the Israel Defense Forces said soldiers who fought in Gaza were now training for combat on the northern front. 

“The 36th Division, the Northern Command’s offensive division, has completed an intense combat operation in the Gaza Strip, during which the division’s soldiers significantly damaged the capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization,” the IDF said. “Now, the division is increasing its readiness for operational plans against the northern enemy – in defense and offense.”

Smokes rises above Nabatieh, Lebanon, after Israeli attacks on February 8.

An Israeli drone strike on a car in the center of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on Thursday killed at least three people, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

NNA did not give the names of those killed in the strike, but the Israel Defense Forces told CNN it had carried out a strike on a “Hezbollah commander who was involved in a number of (rocket) launches towards the areas of Kiryat Shmona and Metula in northern Israel.”

The IDF said that the strike was “in response to the launch toward Kiryat Shmona this morning.”

Hezbollah confirmed it had fired rockets into several locations in northern Israel on Thursday morning. There were no immediate reports of Israeli casualties following the Hezbollah rocket attacks.

Hezbollah has not yet commented on reports that one of its commanders was killed in the Israeli strike, but late Thursday, the militant group announced it had conducted further rocket launches targeting the Israeli military at Meron airbase in Israel.

The US military killed or wounded more than 40 militants in its strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria on February 2, according to the Defense Department.

US Central Command is still assessing the results of the strikes, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said at a briefing Thursday. The strikes included more than 85 targets the militant groups have used to attack US forces, he said.

Strikes on Houthis: Ryder also gave an update on February 3 strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying those attacks destroyed or damaged 35 Houthi targets at 13 locations.

“More broadly, since the first coalition strikes on January 11, we assessed that we’ve destroyed or degraded more than 100 missiles and launchers, including anti-ship, land attack and surface to air missiles, plus numerous communication capabilities, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, coastal radars, air surveillance capabilities and weapons storage areas,” Ryder said of the US and UK attacks on Houthi targets over the past several weeks.

Remember: The US has described recent attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria and attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes by the Houthis, who are also affiliated with Tehran, as “distinct but related challenges.” In both cases, Washington is seeking to deter further attacks while avoiding wider conflict in a region already roiled by the Israel-Hamas war.

The United States would not support an Israeli military operation in Rafah “without serious planning” around more than a million displaced civilians crammed into the southern Gaza city, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Thursday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made this clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in meetings in Israel Wednesday, Patel said.

Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the “IDF is preparing to fight in Rafah.”

Asked where displaced civilians in Rafah would be able to go, given they cannot return to northern Gaza and the ongoing military action in the south, Patel said, “These are legitimate questions that we believe that the Israelis should answer.”

“We have yet to see any evidence of serious planning for such an operation” in Rafah, Patel claimed.