DAY 150 OF THE GAZA WAR: Hezbollah Missile Kills Indian Worker, Gantz in Washington, Hostage Negotiations Continue

Tel Aviv Diary, March 4, 2024

The day began with an anti-tank missile attack near Moshav Margalit. The missile struck a group of workers from India, who arrived to replace other foreign laborers who had worked on the farm before the war. One worker was killed, and another seven were wounded. In response, Israel launched airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Although the incident was tragic, it was deemed acceptable within the bounds of the exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel over the past four months.

American negotiator Amos Hochstein arrived in Lebanon to try to advance a negotiated settlement between the two sides. Hezbollah claims it will not cease firing until the war in Gaza ends. Tonight, Hezbollah fired ten rockets at various locations along the western part of Israel’s northern border. While there were no injuries and most of the rockets were intercepted, the barrage caused a power outage in some of the communities in the area.

HOSTAGES … 150 DAYS AND COUNTING …

The progress of the hostage negotiations remains no more clear tonight than last night. The Israeli news led with the story of Hamas introducing new demands in the hostage talks. However, it appears the demands in question center on the number of terrorists Israel will have to release, and were initially raised days ago. Hamas has not responded to Israel’s demand to confirm how many hostages are still alive. Consequently, some Israeli sources are claiming the talks are deadlocked. Conversely, Egyptian mediators — and even the Hamas representative — have stated that the differences can be resolved, asserting there is still potential to reach an agreement by Ramadan. It's unclear who to believe

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