Israel at war day 464: What happened in Gaza, West Bank?

Israel Air Force jets struck and demolished multiple Hezbollah terror targets throughout Lebanon, the military confirmed in the early hours of Monday. 

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar met with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in Jerusalem to discuss regional developments, Israeli media reported Sunday night.

US President Joe Biden is expected to speak soon with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discuss negotiations with him on the hostage deal and the ceasefire in Gaza, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN Sunday.  

This comes as a top-level Israeli security delegation arrived in Qatar for talks on a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, a spokesperson for Netanyahu said, in a possible sign of so-far elusive agreements nearing.

In a joint operation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), the Israel Police, the Counterterrorism Unit (Yamam), and the IDF, an armed terrorist cell was arrested on Saturday night in the city of Nablus while they were on their way to carry out an attack, the police announced on Sunday.

Two terrorists were arrested in the joint operation; both were from the northern West Bank town of Qabatia, near Jenin.

Hamas's unexpected flexibility during negotiations for a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza surprised Israeli delegates, a source from Hamas told Saudi news outlet Asharq on Saturday.

“We are close to announcing an agreement and a prisoner exchange,” said a source claiming to be familiar with the negotiations, “but this hinges on Israel’s awaited response. If no new Israeli conditions are introduced, the agreement will be ready for announcement through the mediators”—referring to Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.

The source said that Hamas demonstrated "significant flexibility" during the talks, which surprised Israeli negotiators. This included agreeing to submit a list of living prisoners as part of the first phase and adding 11 prisoners to the list at Israel’s request during the latest round of discussions.

Iran has agreed to supply 1,500 suicide drones to the Kurdish YPG/PKK group in Syria to counter Turkey’s military operations, according to a report by the Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak reported on Sunday.

Bugünkü haberim;

Irak - Süleymaniyeçde İranlı subaylar ile terör örgütü PKK arasında görüşme gerçekleşti.

Görüşme sonucunda İran, PKK’ya 1500 kamikaze drone sözü verdi

Ancak tarafların Türkiye’nin teslimatı vuracağı bilgisi nedeniyle teslimatı gerçekleştiremedi

İşte detaylar! https://t.co/rGQsqRJLUR

— Burak Doğan (@doganburak29) January 12, 2025

The meeting between Iranian representatives and the Kurdish organization reportedly took place in a market in Iraq, where the Kurds initially requested 2,000 drones. However, Iran clarified it could only provide 1,500 units.

Despite reaching an agreement, the shipment has been delayed due to Turkey’s close monitoring and its threat to intercept any drone transfers into Syria. Determined to block the deal, Turkey’s efforts have brought cooperation between Iran and the YPG/PKK to a standstill, the report noted.

The IDF is investigating failures during the October 7 Hamas attacks, with Israeli Navy officers alleging that critical intelligence about a planned naval commando raid on Zikim Beach was withheld, leaving them unprepared despite longstanding surveillance, according to sources close to the inquiry.

Israeli Navy officers have criticized the omission of the naval appendix from the "Walls of Jericho" dossier, which detailed Hamas’s military wing's plan for a large-scale, multi-site assault on Israeli civilian areas.

According to the officers, the senior naval command was not briefed on this intelligence. “It remains unclear to this day what happened to the intelligence regarding the planned raid by the naval Nukhba unit, Hamas’s elite commando force,” one source said.

Ra'am Party head Mansour Abbas told Army Radio on Sunday, "If a government is formed that will agree to a  hostage deal and an end to the war, Ra'am will be a safety net that will allow [said government] to live out its days."

IDF Arabic spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee issued an evacuation warning for Gazans in the Nuseirat area on Sunday morning before an imminent strike.

#عاجل ‼️ الى سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في البلوك 662 (منطقة النصيرات) هذا تحذير مسبق قبل هجوم!
⭕️تطلق المنظمات الإرهابية مرة أخرى القذائف الصاروخية من هذه المنطقة المحددة التي تم تحذيرها عدة مرات في الماضي.
⭕️من أجل أمنكم، انتقلوا فوراً الى المنطقة الإنسانية pic.twitter.com/3y0quYAOyZ

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) January 12, 2025

" To the residents of the Gaza Strip located in Block 662 (Nuseirat area), this is a prior warning before an attack!   Terrorist organizations are once again launching rockets from this specific area that has been warned several times in the past.   For your own safety, move immediately to the humanitarian zone," the post read.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) took jabs at each other in official statements on Saturday, with Hamas accusing the PA of trying to kill its members and the PA stressing it would not allow the terror group to "reproduce its activities in the West Bank."

Hamas leader Abdul Rahman Shadid condemned the PA for attempting to "assassinate" members of the terror group in a statement on its official Telegram channel.