Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 132?

The leader of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, said in a televised speech on Thursday the group will continue its attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians as long as Israel continues what he called its crimes against them.

The IDF on Thursday publicly took credit for assassinating two senior Hezbollah terrorists and a third minor player, including the mastermind of the March 2023 Megiddo terror attack, which stunned the country at the time.

One of those killed by the IDF, senior Hezbollah Radwan commander Ali Muhammad al-Dabs, was the mastermind of that terror plot and also managed significant aspects of the Lebanese terror group's attacks on Israel since October 7.

The second Hezbollah operative killed by the IDF was his deputy Hassan Ibrahim Issa, and the third Hezbollah member's identity was reported by local outlet An-Nahar as Hussein Ahmed Aqeel.

Part of what was unusual was the IDF taking public credit for the assassinations. The IDF has only taken public credit in a minority of the assassinations of top Hezbollah officials, usually leaving hints but not wanting to antagonize the group into risking a larger conflict.

Hezbollah attacks IDF Northern Command

However, following Hezbollah's attacks on the IDF Northern Command, Safed, and an IDF base near Meron, Israel has significantly upped the stakes.

On Wednesday, the IDF struck targets deeper into Lebanon than it has compared to the rest of the war and also struck a much wider number of areas than it typically has when retaliating.

Moreover, earlier Thursday, Israeli fighter jets struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in the area of Wadi Saluki in south Lebanon. 

It said it also hit Hezbollah infrastructure in the area of Labbouneh earlier in the day, as well as a Hezbollah military structure in Taybeh overnight.

This made the assassinations later Thursday at least the third major round of attacks by the IDF since the latest escalation started, and made it clear that the IDF is being bolder in trying to deter Hezbollah from firing deeper into Israel as well as to convince the terror group to move its forces back to around the Litani River.

Top Israeli officials to date have conditioned returning around 80,000 northern residents to their homes near the border with Lebanon on moving Hezbollah's forces away from the border by negotiations or a larger war, if necessary.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke at an emergency preparedness meeting Thursday afternoon, describing the need for the Israeli Air Force to take action against Hezbollah on the northern front, evacuation, and emergency supplies of critical infrastructure and aid to residents in the area.

"At the end of the day, Hamas as a military and governmental organization will not exist in the Gaza Strip - this is a government decision, and the security establishment will fully implement it. The time will be long, but in the end, this process will end for the simple reason that we cannot live with a reality in which our women and children are killed and kidnapped, and we live as if the world is as usual," Galant said in his statement at the meeting.

"We have no interest in war, but we must prepare. The planes that are currently flying over the skies of Lebanon have targets - and they know how to change the attack from place to place. In the event of a war, the prices for the State of Israel are heavy, but they are catastrophic for Lebanon and Hezbollah. It is advisable that we take the old Roman insight that says: "He who wants peace will prepare for war."

 Israeli fighter jets struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in the area of Wadi Saluki in south Lebanon on Thursday, the IDF said.

It said it also hit Hezbollah infrastructure in the area of Labbouneh earlier in the day as well as a Hezbollah military structure in Taybeh overnight.

The IDF has launched a targeted operation within Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, aiming to apprehend Hamas terrorists and recover the bodies of hostages, the military revealed on Thursday. 

The goal of the IDF operation is to reach Hamas terrorists, including those suspected of involvement in the October 7 massacre, the IDF stated. 

In a Thursday briefing, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated, "Sadly, we know that some hostages are no longer alive. We are committed to finding and returning the bodies of those hostages in Gaza.

The United Nations aid chief warned on Thursday of the possibility of a spillover of Palestinians amassed in Rafah into Egypt if Israel launches a military operation against the border town.

More than one million Palestinians are crammed into Rafah at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt. Many are living in tent camps and makeshift shelters after fleeing Israeli bombardments elsewhere in Gaza.

US Representative Rashida Tlaib, in a speech to Congress on Wednesday, spoke of alleged sexual violence against Palestinians by the IDF while failing to address or condemn the sexual violence perpetuated against Israelis during the October 7 massacre in southern Israel. 

Tlaib delivered the speech in response to the roundtable discussion hosted by Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz on Wednesday. The discussions were aimed to raise awareness of Hamas’s crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence the terrorist group committed on October 7. These attacks against Israeli women have been well-documented, including eyewitness accounts and raw footage of Hamas atrocities.

UN Relief Chief Martin Griffiths told a representative from Sky News on Wednesday that he did not consider Hamas to be a terrorist group. 

Asked about the feasibility of Israel’s military goal to eliminate Hamas and disallow the terrorist group from having any governing say in Gaza, Griffiths responded “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us, as you know, it is a political movement. But, I think it is very very difficult to dislodge these groups without a negotiated solution; which includes their aspirations.

Any agreement between Israel and Hamas should secure a ceasefire and an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza in addition to achieving a serious prisoner swap deal, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement on Thursday.

US Central Command said on Thursday its forces carried out four strikes on Wednesday in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen where the Iran-backed militia had been preparing to target ships in the Red Sea.