Israel-Hamas War Day 178: What is going on in Gaza, Lebanon?

Five people, among them reportedly international aid workers, were killed in an airstrike in the Deir al-Balah area of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian media reported Tuesday.

Palestinian news outlets added that others were wounded in the attacks. According to these reports, the IDF struck a civilian car on the road near the beach.

Following this report, "the IDF began an in-depth investigation, to understand the circumstances of the incident," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Saudi Arabia this week for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid a US push for progress toward normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Talks on normalization had been put on ice in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas terrorists on southern Israel and Israel's subsequent operations in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, but conversations have resumed in recent months.

A US official said Sullivan planned talks with the crown prince to check in on the issue but did not expect a major breakthrough.

The Israel-Hamas War is more complex than the 1948 War of Independence, IDF Maj.-Gen. (res,) Gershon Hacohen said in an interview with Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on 103FM.

"First of all, it really is a long war, and it is also to some extent strategically more complicated even than the War of Independence," Hacohen said. "The War of Independence was difficult, there were many casualties, but the direction was very clear, the enemies were very clear, and the question of what the day after would be was very simple – any place that is within the borders of the State of Israel will be the State of Israel, and we will rule there."

Regarding the current war however, Hacohen explained that Israel faces unique complexities on all fronts. "Both arenas are very complex," he explained. "[Regarding the] southern arena, the question of how to arrange what we need there is complicated even beyond just finding a [Palestinian] political leader, because we're really struggling with doing that. In the North, even though it is a war of attrition, we have already lived with wars of attrition.

A new weapons deal with Israel is under consideration by US officials, Politico reported on Monday.

50 F-15 fighter jets, 30 AID-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, and a “number of joint direct attack munition kits, which turn dumb bombs into precision-guided weapons,” are being considered for the American weapons sale to Israel, according to Politico.

While the sale is still waiting for US approval, a congressional aide revealed that the Biden administration is very likely approve the sale. However, it is important to note that according to Politico’s report, it would “be years before the weapons arrive in Israel.”

Politico further reported that when asked for a response, the US State Department spokesperson said "the department does not comment on potential future sales.”