Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 149?

Defense Minister Benny Gantz landed in the United States on Sunday evening ahead of expected meetings with American security and political figures.

Gantz is expected to meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris, US Secretary fo State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, among others.

Iran claimed that it executed a "Mossad agent" who planned to cause an explosion at a site connected to the Iranian Defense Ministry in Esfahan last year, according to a report by Iranian news outlet Tasnim.

According to the report, the explosion was planned and coordinated by the intelligence officer of the Mossad.

The United States military carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

Palestinians were quick to search for the boxes upon their landing inside the Strip, showcasing its contents in videos shared with the world on social media.

Spaghetti, sauce and skittles: US sends ready-to-eat meals to Gaza

In one video doing the rounds on X, a Gazan "unboxed" one of the aid boxes airdropped, finding skittles and combat rations, also known as MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat), among other sweets and valuables.

Cool…cool…Gazans are doing good reviews for the MREs dropped by the US. Fucken MREs no less. pic.twitter.com/bEr4XPDaYp

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) March 3, 2024

The rations given to the Gazans included chili with beans, chicken noodles, and spaghetti with beef and salt.

IDF soldiers in Gaza, while humanitarian aid is seen being airdropped to Gazan residents above, February 28, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)

Included with the ready-to-eat meals were tabasco sauce, apple sauce, salt, and sugar - as well a pack of Skittles and ingredients to make a hot beverage, intended for dessert.

"Cool…cool…Gazans are doing good reviews for the MREs dropped by the US," commented one person who shared the video. "F***** MREs no less."

More than 38,000 meals on 66 pallets were airdropped over southwestern Gaza and the town of Mawasi. The White House has said the airdrops will be a sustained effort and that Israel was supportive of the operation.

The US carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza over the weekend. It dropped more than 30,000 meals to Gaza in cooperation with the Jordanian Air Force. 

US President Joe Biden has backed this in the wake of a stampede near food trucks that killed more than 100 people last Thursday. The airdrops follow the increasing use of airdrops by Jordan and several other countries.

However, the US involvement may put a spotlight on Israel’s next steps in Gaza.

Because the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza requires airdrops, it will leave questions about how any potential Rafah operation might play out. In short, the US involvement in Gaza is increasing, and this can have major ramifications. It could put more pressure on Israel and lead to more scrutiny over future operations.

The decision by the US to conduct an airdrop is an important development in the war in Gaza. The US has supported Israel’s campaign against Hamas in the wake of the Hamas attack on October 7. However, this has come with some caveats.

While the White House has acted to block UN resolutions condemning Israel or calling for a ceasefire, Israel has been urged to conduct a less intense campaign in Gaza since early December. The result is a relatively slow campaign in southern Gaza that has led to most of the civilian population fleeing to Rafah near the border with Egypt. This is also where the last major Hamas bastion is, and Hamas uses the civilians as human shields.

The IDF, on Sunday, and also over the last week, initiated a large operation to try to consolidate control over Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and Zeitoun in northeastern Gaza.

Northern Gaza was said to be under IDF operational control already in early January (parts were in control in mid-November), and southern Gaza, other than Rafah, was said to be under IDF operational control in early February.

Despite those earlier developments, the IDF decided that too many Hamas forces had partially reconstituted themselves in the intervening time period, and a series of larger organized and robust operations was needed to break the terror group’s organization again.

That said, IDF sources said that in Zeitoun it was much easier to defeat the Hamas forces than it had been in late 2023, and required only a brigade level force, versus the multiple divisions required earlier.

The timing of the parallel operations also came as Israel was trying to pressure Hamas into a second hostage exchange deal, though IDF sources protested that there was no direct connection to the negotiations.

Activity of Unit 36 forces in the Zeitoun neighborhood. November 20, 2023 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

In Zeitoun, over 100 terrorists were killed, while significant numbers of terrorists were also killed in Khan Yunis, and around 30 in central Gaza fighting.

Operations in Khan Yunis

In Khan Yunis, the air force and the artillery units struck around 50 targets in a mere six minutes.

Unlike Zeitoun, which only required a brigade, Khan Yunis still required a division, and this was the first full division 98-level operation in weeks.

Recent weeks had seen smaller IDF forces engaging in Khan Yunis in lower key cleaning up operations of remaining pieces of what had once been larger Hamas terror cells, which had already been broken at the battalion level.

Brigade 401 Commander IDF Col. Beni Aharon said that although Hamas had managed to return since January in northern Gaza partially, it would be much harder for the terror group to do so again after this week’s operation.

He explained that during this week’s Zeitoun operation, the IDF had destroyed much more of the remaining tunnel network, which Hamas terrorists had used to flee in late 2023.

The IDF announced the death of Warrant Officer (res.) Dennis Yekimov, who fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday.

Dennis Yekimon, was 33 years old, from Beersheba, and a fighter in the 17th battalion of the Bislamach Brigade.

The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebryesus, claimed that Israel killed over 50 civilians, including children and two health workers during its latest wave of strikes in Rafah, in a post on X (formerly twitter) on Saturday. 

Reports that tents sheltering displaced people in Rafah were bombed - reportedly killing 11 people and injuring 50, including children - are outrageous and unspeakable.

Among those killed are two health workers.

Health workers and civilians are #NotATarget, and must be…

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 2, 2024

This post drew the attention of Israel's Health Minister Uriel Busso, who responded to the post, saying: "The Director General of the World Health Organization is once again sinning in his position, deliberately ignoring the reality on the ground and choosing the side of the murderous terrorist organization Hamas. The IDF is the most moral army in the world and works to protect the lives of the enemy's citizens before the law. On the other hand, Hamas murders and kidnaps innocent civilians and uses the residents of Gaza as human shields."

מנכ"ל ארגון הבריאות העולמי שוב חוטא לתפקידו, מתעלם במכוון מהמציאות בשטח ובוחר בצד של ארגון הטרור הרצחני חמאס.

להלן העובדות:

-צה"ל הוא הצבא המוסרי ביותר בעולם ופועל לשמירה על חיי אזרחי האויב לפנים משורת הדין.
מנגד, חמאס רוצח וחוטף אזרחים חפים מפשע ומשתמש בתושבי עזה כמגן אנושי.… https://t.co/aM3GEzkmrZ

— Uriel Busso-אוריאל בוסו (@BussoUriel) March 3, 2024

His post then criticized the WHO and other international organizations for " being used" by Hamas to help achieve their political goals, saying: "Employees of the World Health Organization and the official infrastructure of the organization are being used by Hamas until this moment to carry out terrorist acts and to imprison the Israeli hostages."

Bosso added, "134 Israelis, including women, children, and the elderly, have been held captive by Hamas for 149 days and are in immediate danger of their lives. According to the evidence, they undergo severe abuse - physical and mental - starvation and serious sexual injuries."

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters blocked Highway 4, near the haredi city of Bnei Brak, in a demonstration against recent calls for equal IDF conscription rules on Sunday afternoon.

The protesters can be seen blocking vehicles and clashing with police officers at the intersection near the Coca-Cola factory in Bnei Brak, as shown in footage shared on social media.

מאות חרדים מהפלג הירושלמי מפגינים וחוסמים את כביש 4 באזור צומת קוקה-קולה בעקבות הבג"ץ בנושא חוק הגיוס@OrRavid pic.twitter.com/jlCvSY92ds

— החדשות - N12 (@N12News) March 3, 2024

This is a developing story.

On Sunday, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi discussed bilateral relations, energy cooperation, trade, and Gaza with Algeria's leader Abdelmadjid Tebboune in a one-day state visit, according to Algeria's presidency.

Algeria, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, backs the Palestinian cause and has called several times for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli forces foiled an attempted shooting near the Salem military outpost, north of Jenin in the West Bank, on Sunday, according to Army Radio.

The report said that terrorists opened fire on the outpost, but no injuries were reported. The report also claimed that security forces returned fire and were searching for the terrorists.

This is a developing story.