Israel at war: What happened on day 518?

The Israeli security cabinet, which will convene on Sunday, is expected to approve the expansion of the voluntary exit option for Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to third countries through an authority that Defense Minister Israel Katz will establish.

The decision to establish this authority follows US President Donald Trump's statements on the need to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza for third countries. An Israeli official clarified: "The authority will be subject to international law."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a telephone situation assessment regarding negotiations on the Gaza deal Saturday evening.
 

Over the last week, IDF troops located, confiscated, and dismantled numerous weapons while the military continued defensive operations at strategic points in Syria, the IDF announced in a Saturday statement. 

Soldiers in the Paratroopers Brigade, the Armored Corps, and the Yahalom Unit under the command of Brigade 474 conducted “targeted raids” in Syria, according to the IDF. 

The troops destroyed rifles, ammunition, missiles, and additional military equipment. 

The Iranian-backed Houthis have increased threats to return to attacks on Israel and return to attacks on ships. The threats come as a ceasefire continues to hold in Gaza.

The Houthis, however, claim that Israel has cut off aid to Gaza and, therefore, they have a right to continue attacks; they were also recently sanctioned by the Trump administration.

Iran wants to use the Houthis to keep the pressure on Israel. Iranian state media noted that “Yemen’s Ansarullah [Houthis] movement declares a four-day deadline to international mediators to advocate for the resumption of aid delivery into the Gaza Strip; otherwise, the movement would restart its naval operations against the Israeli regime.”

Iran has said that it prefers a one-state solution to the conflict in Gaza rather than the recent plan that Arab states have proposed. The Arab initiative came out of a meeting in Cairo last week. Iran has now spoken out at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), where foreign ministers from various Muslim countries have gathered.

This is a pivotal time in the region. There is still a ceasefire in Gaza, and Hamas has rejected Israel’s attempt to extend the first phase of a hostage deal. The Trump administration is now open to direct talks with Hamas. Iran and the Arab states oppose the Trump plan for re-settling Gazans.

The Arab League backs a plan for reconstruction that Egypt has been pushing for Gaza. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said at the OIC that the two-state solution “will not secure Palestinian rights, emphasizing Tehran’s support for the establishment of one state representing all the original inhabitants of Palestine.”

Reports of massacres of civilians in Syria’s Latakia are a major test for the new government of Syria. Since the fall of the Assad regime, the new authorities have sought to try to balance the needs of numerous Syrians from different regions and groups.

The group that came to power on December 8, 2024, after the Assad regime fell, was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has its roots in extremist groups that opposed the Assad regime. Since December, there have been concerns that HTS might persecute minorities. However, the leader of HTS, Ahmad al-Sharaa, moved quickly to make it seem Damascus had a new face.

The clashes that began in Latakia on March 6 have been brewing for months. Depending on the source, the reports say that groups of insurgents with ties to the old regime attacked the security forces of the new Damascus government.

#Breaking: It is happening in the coastal regions of #Syria. Terrorists of the new #Syrian Jihadist regime are looting shops owned by religious and ethnic minorities, similar to what happened in #Manbij, #Afrin, and other Kurdish cities in #Syria that were occupied by the… pic.twitter.com/dXBdpx2SsL

— Babak Taghvaee - The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) March 8, 2025

IDF and Israel Police forces confiscated a vehicle in the area of Immatain, in the West Bank, which contained three M-16 rifles and cartridges, the military and police announced in a joint statement Saturday evening.

The confiscated weapons were transferred to the security forces for further processing. 

Hamas sees "positive indicators" for launching talks over the second phase of Gaza ceasefire talks, the Palestinian terrorist group's spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.

The IDF thwarted a drone that was attempting to smuggle drugs from Egypt into Israel on the border between the two countries, the military announced Saturday afternoon. 

IDF troops seized approximately seven kilograms of drugs. The captured drone and drugs have been transferred to the Israel Police for further investigation. 

A targeted strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon, being attributed to Israel, killed one person, Israeli media reported on Saturday citing Lebanese reports.

According to the report, the strike took place between Kheerbet Selem and al-Sawana.