War Day 550: Hezbollah Weapons Hit, IDF Controls New Morag Corridor

Summary: April 8, 2025

• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have made substantial advances in Rafah, securing control over the strategically important Morag Corridor.
• Intelligence reports indicate that Iran is continuing to supply weapons to Hezbollah via maritime routes.
• U.S. airstrikes have significantly weakened Houthi positions, with sustained pressure causing notable setbacks for the group.
• Reports suggest increasing coordination between Israel and Turkey in Syria, hinting at a potential shift in regional alliances.
• In a separate development, an exiled Iranian Crown Prince has called on the United States to back dissident groups in their efforts to overthrow the current regime in Tehran.

59 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
147 living hostages rescued.
49 hostage bodies rescued.
1,828 Israelis killed.
413 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
87 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
30,708 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
20,000 Israelis estimated displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

– Egypt pushing ceasefire proposal
– Significant gains in Rafah
– IDF controls Morag Corridor
– Chief of Staff operating to properly defeat Hamas brigades
– Concerns over aid introduction into Gaza
– Stone-throwing knife-wielding female terrorist eliminated
– UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem given closing deadlines
– IAF hits Hezbollah weapons facility deep in Lebanon
– Iran delivering weapons to Hezbollah by sea
– Hezbollah claims ready to disarm if Israel withdraws and stops airstrikes
– Reported Israel-Turkey coordination in Syria
– Houthis withering under U.S. airstrikes
– Iran insists negotiations will be “indirect”
– Low faith in negotiations
– Netanyahu outlines Israel’s requirements from Iran
– Iran reestablishing defenses
– Iran shipping powerful weapons to militia in Iraq
– Exiled Crown Prince wants U.S. to support Iranian dissidents to overthrow regime

Hostages:

Egypt is still trying to push their proposal, and now adjusted it to 8 living hostages and 8 bodies of hostages in exchange for a 5-day ceasefire. The ceasefire would include a heavy flow of aid into Gaza, hundreds of released terrorists, and IDF withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor.

The most significant problem with Egypt’s proposal: Guarantees for a second phase following the initial ceasefire, which would include a full IDF withdrawal and end to the war, with Hamas still in control of Gaza.

Israel will not agree to end the war with Hamas intact in Gaza. Still, negotiations are ongoing.

Gaza:

Hamas did not successfully launch any rockets into Israel today. Thank G-d, there were no fallen soldiers in Gaza, despite a large deployment. May G-d continue to protect our soldiers!

The IDF is acting swiftly in Gaza, while keeping specifics about operations mute. It appears that most civilians left Rafah, and a small but not insignificant number of terrorists remain. Most terrorists are running away from IDF troops, or hiding in tunnels. The terrorists wear civilian clothing, and escape by blending in with evacuating groups.

The IDF now fully controls the new Morag Corridor, separating Rafah from Khan Younis, and operating in an area which was not entered until now (during this war).

The new IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has reversed declarations of victory over Hamas brigades which were made before his tenure. Back in September, the IDF declared the Rafah brigade to be “collapsed,” and then “defeated.” One of Zamir’s first actions was to take that back. Defeat won’t be declared again until the brigades are completely gone. Today, he visited troops in Rafah and the Morag Corridor, and expressed his faith that they would complete the job properly.

In Zamir’s words to the soldiers: “You, the forces of Division 36, have returned to fight in the Gaza Strip in a place where IDF forces are operating for the first time, the ‘Morag’ Corridor, in an operation that surprised the enemy and led to the elimination of dozens of terrorists and the discovery of numerous combat means. You are applying significant pressure. I expect you to defeat the Rafah Brigade and lead to victory in every place where you are fighting.”

While some are happy with the pace at which the IDF is taking over Gaza, others in the security establishment feel that the pressure on Hamas is not strong enough. Hamas leaders still have plenty places to hide—specifically along with the hostages, which they use as human shields. The IDF won’t enter areas where hostages are held, because Hamas has threatened to murder the hostages if they do. The IDF is also aware of the tunnels where hostages are being held, and won’t destroy them. This makes it difficult to completely defeat Hamas’s leadership.

The “Order 9” group published a document which they claim indicates that the IDF is preparing to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, including to UNRWA. The IDF’s COGAT division denies this, and says that the document doesn’t outline the transfer of aid, but the movement of human international aid volunteers in and out of Gaza.

The Prime Minister, Finance Minister, IDF, and other government and military officials have all stressed that the IDF won’t be delivering aid to Hamas in Gaza. Note that they made sure to say “Hamas in Gaza,” and not “civilians in Gaza.” Eyal Ofer, an expert on Hamas’s economy, raises a red flag to this.

The IDF is likely preparing a new method to attempt to deliver aid only to civilians, while cutting Hamas out of the process. Ofer expresses that it’s nearly impossible to make a distinction between the civilians in Gaza and Hamas. In an interview with Maariv, he mentions that most Gazans, even those who protest against Hamas, have a burning hatred for Israel: “When our soldiers entered homes in Gaza, they told how they found weapons in every third house, and Hamas propaganda in every child’s room. This does not mean that every Gazan is a Hamasnik, but even the few Gazans who are now protesting against the Hamas rule are angry about the results of the destruction from the war and not about the ideology that brought it about: the desire to wipe Israel off the map.”

In Ofer’s opinion, there appears to be no way to deliver aid to Gaza, without aiding Hamas.

Judea & Samaria:

A female terrorist threw stones at soldiers and Israeli vehicles at the Gitai Avisar junction near Ariel. She ignored initial warnings, and then pulled out a knife. The soldiers then shot her.

Throwing stones at cars on highways is a dangerous act of terrorism, that has led to several tragic deaths, including that of a small baby. The IDF has given many warnings that it won’t be tolerated.

Following the ban on UNRWA in Israel, there are reports that Israeli security forces entered six UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem, and issued closure orders, effective in 30 days. UNRWA schools have a curriculum that idolizes terrorists, and teaches students to hate Jews.

Lebanon:

The IAF struck a Hezbollah weapons warehouse the Beeqa region, deep inside Lebanon.

The Saudi Al-Hadath channel quoted a “Western source” saying that Iran is delivering weapons to Hezbollah via the sea. After the fall of the Assad regime, Iran established a new smuggling route, and has been sending a significant number of weapons to Hezbollah via the port of Lebanon.

While Hezbollah continues effort to rearm and establish themselves in Southern Lebanon, they also deny that they are there at all.

At the same time, a senior Hezbollah official announced that the terror group is ready to hold talks about disarmament with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun—if Israel fully withdraws from Southern Lebanon, and stops the airstrikes.

According to the current ceasefire agreement, Lebanon is supposed to be disarming Hezbollah. They have failed to do so until now, which is why the IDF remains in 5 strategic points along Lebanon’s border, and uses airstrikes to hinder Hezbollah’s rebuilding efforts. Israel will need significant evidence that Lebanon is really doing their job, before any withdrawal or cessation of strikes happens. In other words—it’s unlikely.

Syria:

PM Netanyahu said today that US President Trump will talk with Turkey’s Erdogan, to help prevent him from building bases in Syria that would endanger Israel.

According to a Maariv report, Israel and Turkey are holding serious talks to coordinate moves in Syria, in order to prevent clashes between the two armies. The report says that Netanyahu was made aware of Turkish plans to takeover the T4 base in Syria, and therefore instructed the IDF to complete all necessary airstrikes on the former base, before it would be too late.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Friday that “Turkey is not seeking a confrontation with Israel in Syria.” Israel has also expressed the same sentiment.

Yemen:

The US is continuing to hit the Houthis hard, with over 130 known strikes so far. The U.S. confirms that they have eliminated several Houthi leaders, but doesn’t divulge who they are.

The strikes see to have an effect: There is a sharp reduction in Houthi ballistic missile attacks against Israel.

Iran:

Following Trump’s announcement that the U.S. has begun direct talks with Hamas, and will meet on Saturday, Iran confirmed that they will be attending indirect talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will arrive in Oman with a team, parallel to Trump’s Steve Witkoff team. (Witkoff is simultaneously leading negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas, and a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. This addition makes for a very large load.)

An Iranian official told Reuters that they have little confidence in the process, and deep suspicions towards U.S. intentions. Iranian officials went so far as to demand “clear gestures” from the U.S. in order to move forward.

Don’t underestimate Iran. The regime is very good at negotiating, as is evidence by the JCPOA agreement, which gave a shocking amount of benefits to Iran, with little to no actual supervision of their actions.

The Israeli security establishment is also skeptical of the talks, and is continuing to plan for the likelihood of war against Iran. However, they have not ruled out the possibility of Trump’s team making a deal, since the team is motivated to avoid war. The negotiations are supposed to have a 6 week time limit, and Israel is relying on that.

In his recent meeting with Trump, Netanyahu shared the principals that Israel believes must be included in a deal with Iran, which are just as they were with Libya: Dismantling all nuclear facilities, dismantling all enrichment facilities, dismantling all supporting infrastructure (such as ballistic missiles), and removing all enriched material from Iran. Each of the facilities would need to be destroyed under American supervision. If this would happen, Israel would be satisfied, and perhaps even happy with, the deal.

Netanyahu also warned Trump about the well-known Iranian method of dragging out negotiations indefinitely.

While heading to negotiations, Iran is also continuing with a massive military buildup, and reestablishment of air defense systems after Israel’s last attack. Iranian sources connected to the regime report that six Iranian early detection radar systems have been deployed in sensitive areas throughout the country, including near Azerbaijan (where Israel is suspected to have some sort of launching assets).

The Times (UK) also reports that the Iranian regime has been supplying Shiite militias in Iraq with powerful surface-to-surface missiles, some of which can reach as far as Europe. This is not new, such reports began to emerge in 2018, however there seems to be an increase in quantity and quality.

Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s former Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (who was exiled from Iran and lives in New York), has been campaigning for a different approach. Pahlavi argues for a strategy of providing support for Iranian dissidents who are prepared to overthrow the regime from within.

Pahlavi explained his position at an FDD event: “All I’m asking is give the Iranian people a chance to put an end to all of these concerns. And if we fail, you always have those options. But jumping straight from ‘diplomacy is not working’ [to] ‘let’s go bomb the hell out of them’ — once again, you’re throwing the people of Iran under the bus, which will only add insult to injury.”

Israel may be looking towards a hybrid solution.

Other:

A group of around 200 American families are suing Gazan-American billionaire Bashar Masri in a U.S. federal court, alleging that he knowingly supported Hamas by aiding in the development of its terror infrastructure in Gaza. The plaintiffs are all either U.S. citizens or first-degree relatives of 46 U.S. citizens killed in the October 7th massacre.

The lawsuit centers on Masri’s involvement in “green development projects” in Gaza, especially the Gaza Industrial Estate, which was funded in part by USAID and intended to boost local employment. The plaintiffs claim the site was only a cover used to support Hamas terror operations, including providing electricity to tunnels used to hold hostages, and tunnels which reached into Israeli territory and were used in the infiltration attacks.

If the allegations are true, Masri used American funds to profit millions for himself, while also helping Hamas carry out the October 7th massacre and kidnappings.

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