Johanna Moore, Amin Soltani, Annika Ganzeveld, and Brian Carter

Information Cutoff: 2:00 pm ET

The IDF reported on April 27 that the Israeli Defense Ministry began construction of a humanitarian aid distribution area on the coast of the central Gaza Strip. This aid distribution point will service the US-constructed pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis launched three ballistic missiles targeting two commercial vessels in the Red Sea on April 26. US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that the Houthis launched three anti-ship ballistic missiles targeting the Barbados-flagged, Liberia-operated Maisha and United Kingdom-owned, Panama-flagged Andromeda Star. CENTCOM and British maritime security firm Ambrey reported minor damage to the Andromeda Star. The Houthi military spokesperson claimed the attack targeted the Andromeda Star, adding that Houthi forces also shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Saada Governorate, northern Yemen.



Key Takeaways:

• Gaza Strip: Israeli forces continued to target Palestinian fighters and militia infrastructure across the Gaza Strip.

• West Bank: Israeli forces have engaged Palestinian fighters in at least two locations across the West Bank since CTP-ISW's last information cutoff on April 26.

• Lebanon: Lebanese Hezbollah has conducted at least four attacks from southern Lebanon into northern Israel since CTP-ISW's last data cutoff on April 26.

• Yemen: The Houthis launched three ballistic missiles targeting two commercial vessels in the Red Sea on April 26.

• Iraq: The Islamic Resistance in Iraq—a coalition of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias—claimed that it launched one drone targeting an unspecified “vital target” in Haifa on April 26.

Click here to read the full update.

ISW and CTP has launched an interactive map of Israeli ground operations to accompany our daily campaign assessments of the Israel–Hamas war. This product complements the daily static maps that ISW-CTP produces with high-fidelity and, where possible, street-level assessments of the war in Israel.

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