October 16, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

Our live coverage of the conflict in Israel and Gaza has moved here.

The head of US Central Command arrived in Israel Monday to meet with the chief of staff of the country’s military, according to a statement from US Central Command. 

Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla’s goal is to better understand Israel’s defense requirements and outline US support during the conflict, the statement said.

US Central Command did not say how long Kurilla would stay in Israel. His visit comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is conducting shuttle diplomacy in the region, including a nearly eight-hour long meeting with Israel’s war cabinet.

Diplomatic efforts to address the crisis are intensifying, with US President Joe Biden also scheduled to visit Israel Wednesday.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul told CNN Monday that his committee is drafting legislation “in the event it’s necessary” to authorize US military force if the current conflict between Israel and Hamas broadens into a wider proxy war with Iran. 

“I hope I never have to mark this bill up. But we have a situation in the Middle East that’s growing day by day with intensity and if Hezbollah gets involved, Iran has already threatened if Gaza is, you know, if Israel goes, you know, if IDF (Israel Defense Forces) goes into Gaza that they’re gonna come out,” he told CNN. 

The revelation that his committee is crafting draft legislation — known as an Authorization of Use for Military Force — comes as President Joe Biden prepares to travel to the region later this week and is the latest indication that the US government is deeply concerned over how the current crisis could broaden in a way that might require a US military response. 

The US military ordered a second carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean as well as Air Force fighter jets to the region as part of US efforts to deter Iran and its proxies from expanding the conflict. 

McCaul was careful not to say whether the White House had specifically asked for such an authorization, telling reporters: “I don’t want to confirm that. It’s just that there is concern that — we, I’m currently, we’re currently drafting one in the event it’s necessary.”

When asked by CNN what this potential authorization might entail, McCaul said: “I’d prefer not to put Iran as a nation state in there. It would be more Iran proxies, you know, like Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran-backed Shi’ia militias, but if Iran gets directly involved, then we would have to put them on the list.”

In an interview later with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, McCaul said he would want any potential authorization to have the full support of the American people.

“I’m currently preparing a draft of that in the event it is called upon and is necessary, but most importantly is supported by the American people,” he said.

The rabbi of the Chicago mother and daughter who are being held hostage in Israel feels reassured that US President Joe Biden and the United States are being supportive of all families.

Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natali Raanan, went to Israel to celebrate the 85th birthday of Natali Raanan’s grandmother. The mother and daughter are now being held hostage by Hamas.

Rabbi Mei Hecht told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Monday night the family is beyond devastated as they continue to wait for any news on their family members.

Hecht described Judith as someone who is full of glee and joy. Before traveling to Israel, Hecht said Judith Raanan dropped off a pink prayer book for his 7-year-old daughter as a gift.

“The fact that someone who lives next door to us, and is a part of our community, is a hostage in Israel makes the devastation and the pain and the grief that all Jews around the world are feeling that much more real,” Rabbi Hecht said. “It brings it home in a way that is so much more a part of our life here, even though we’re on the other side of the world.”

Nearly 1,000 US citizens and their immediate family members departed from Israel on US government-chartered transport, a State Department spokesperson told CNN.

The spokesperson said the US government had offered “more than 4,000 seats on US government-chartered transport by air and sea to US citizens and their immediate family members” since last Friday.

Notably, however, the spokesperson said “the departure options we have offered have generally departed at half capacity or less.”

US government-facilitated flights are expected to continue on a rolling basis from Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport through at least Thursday, the spokesperson said.

“We will continue to monitor demand from US citizens for assistance in departing Israel on a real-time basis. The overall security situation, availability and reliability of commercial transportation, and US citizen demand will all influence the duration of this departure assistance,” the spokesperson said. “We urge those US citizens wishing to leave to take advantage of this departure assistance while it is available.”

 More than 3,000 additional US citizens have said “they successfully departed Israel and the West Bank using commercial air, via the land border, or other means,” according to the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, Americans in Gaza told CNN they have had no luck getting into Egypt through the Rafah crossing, despite indications from US officials that it may be opening. The US Embassy Cairo is tracking 253 US citizens, with 153 “associated family members,” requesting help to depart Gaza via the Rafah Crossing, according to an internal government memo obtained by CNN.

“US citizens in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank in need of assistance should complete the crisis intake form on travel.state.gov,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to provide updates to US citizens, including departure assistance, as information becomes available.”

Two Canadian residents were confirmed to have died in the October 7 Hamas attack, according to Canadian officials and news agencies.

Netta Epstein, an Israeli Canadian, died while shielding his fiancée from gunfire and a grenade when Hamas militants invaded their home, according to the Israeli consulate in Toronto and CTV News. 

“Without hesitation, 21-year-old Netta jumped on the grenade to shield his loved one with his own body. His girlfriend survived and was rescued,” reads a statement the agency shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Their future dreams, including marriage, were abruptly and tragically cut short.”

Epstein’s mother, Ayelet Shachar-Epstein, spoke to CNN news partner CTV and said one of his last text messages to her stated “They’re here, Mom.”

She said she later learned from his fiancée that he sacrificed his life to save her.

CNN has also confirmed that Ben Mizrachi, 22, was killed while attending an outdoor music festival that came under attack, according to Sara Bandel with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.

Taleeb Noormohamed, member of parliment for Vancouver Granville, shared condolences on X, formerly known as Twitter, on last week. 

“A wonderful young man from my riding of #VanGran — Ben Mizrachi — was found amongst those murdered by Hamas terrorists. My heartfelt condolences and prayers are with his family, his friends, loved ones & the community.”

Mizrachi graduated in 2018 from King David High School in Vancouver. The school released a statement last week, confirming his death and that he was gunned down while at the music festival. 

“Ben was larger than life, with a big personality that matched his size. He was full of joy, had a smile for everyone, and was always there to help. Ben was a friend to everyone and was so proud of his service in the IDF.”

Global Affairs Canada on Sunday said that five Canadians have died and three others are still missing. GAC has not released names of the missing or the deceased from the Hamas attack.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed Tel Aviv in the early morning hours Tuesday local time after a long day of meetings with senior Israeli officials, including a seven-and-a-half-hour meeting with the Israeli war cabinet.

In remarks following that meeting, Blinken announced President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday, and that the US and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza.”

However, it is unclear if any progress was made on the actual opening of the Rafah crossing – the only route into or out of Gaza.

Blinken will stay overnight in Amman.

The White House took into account the complex security situation in Israel before announcing President Joe Biden’s visit to the country, a spokesperson said Monday, though he added the US is not dictating military terms to the Israelis surrounding the president’s trip.

The president will arrive in Israel on Wednesday for talks with the country’s leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Kirby said the White House had done its “homework” in scheduling and announcing Biden’s visit. 

“The security situation is certainly tense, of course. But we take all those factors into account when we both plan the president’s trip and when we make a decision to preview it,” he said.

Asked whether allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza was a contingency of Biden making the visit, Kirby did not answer directly. Instead, he said the situation in the coastal Palestinian enclave was a priority for the president. 

“I think we’ve been crystal clear about the need for humanitarian aid to be able to continue to flow into into Gaza, that has been a consistent call by President Biden and certainly by this entire administration,” he said.

“We certainly want to see that humanitarian assistance begin to flow as soon as possible,” he added. “That’s going to be a major topic of the discussion for the future.”

Asked whether the White House expected an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza to begin only after the president departed the region, Kirby declined to weigh in on the country’s military decisions.

“We’re not dictating terms or operational directions to the Israelis,” he said.

Humanitarian aid convoys in El-Arish are moving toward the Rafah border crossing in Gaza, state-affiliated media outlet Al-Qahera News reported early Tuesday local time.

El-Arish is about 45 kiometers (or about 28 miles) from the Rafah border crossing. 

Earlier on Monday, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said there has been no progress in efforts to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza, while the Israeli prime minister’s office denied there were any arrangements for its opening.

Airplanes carrying aid from Jordan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the World Health Organization and the Red Cross have arrived at El-Arish since Thursday.

The mother of Mia Schem, a young French-Israeli woman being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, said she is “the heart of the family.”

 “We are begging the world to bring my baby home,” Keren Scharf Schem told CNN.

Hamas released video of Mia Schem on Monday. In the video, the 21-year-old says she suffered an arm injury and was brought to Gaza. 

It is the first video Hamas has released of any of the hostages held in Gaza. Israeli authorities have said that they believe 199 people are being held in Gaza, while a representative of Hamas said Monday that at least between 200-250 captives are being held across the strip.

Asked if she had a message she wanted to get to her daughter, Keren Scharf Schem said their family was waiting for her to come home.

Keren Scharf Schem continued: “We will never stop. And after you will be here, we will continue until all the 200 hostages will be home too.”

The United States and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in the overnight hours in Tel Aviv Tuesday. 

The top US diplomat noted that the US shares “Israel’s concern that Hamas may seize or destroy entering Gaza or otherwise preventing it from reaching the people who need it.”

“If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it,” he said. “And we will work to prevent it from happening again,” he said. 

Blinken said the agreement to work on the plan was done at the US’s request, and they “welcome the government of Israel’s commitment to work on this plan.”

“The President very much looks forward to discussing it further when he’s here on Wednesday,” he said.

Some context: Blinken’s announcement comes as a “complete siege” by Israel has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with UN officials warning that the crowded strip’s health care system is on the brink of collapse. Closed border crossings with Israel and Egypt mean that humanitarian aid has been unable to enter the territory.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Israel won’t stop until it destroys Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities, according to a statement from the office of the prime minister. 

“The Prime Minister made it clear that Israel was attacked by vile and cruel murderers, went to war determined and united, and will not stop until it destroys the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas,” the statement read. 

Earlier Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with leaders from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Iran and Egypt where he addressed the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Russian president told Netanyahu that Russia is ready to help end the conflict peacefully, by diplomatic means, according to a Kremlin readout of the call. 

US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in the early hours Tuesday in Israel. 

Blinken announced the visit at the end of a more than seven-hour long meeting with Israel’s war cabinet. The secretary of state’s latest stop in Israel is part of his whirlwind seven-nation tour of the Middle East as Israel seems poised for a ground invasion of Gaza and the conflict threatens to spill into other parts of the region.

During his visit to Israel, Biden “will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas,” Blinken said.

Biden “will reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security” in his visit Wednesday, Blinken said.

“President Biden will again make clear, as he’s done unequivocally since the Hamas slaughter of more than 1,400 people, including at least 30 Americans, that Israel has the right and indeed the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks,” Blinken said.

Biden will hear what Israel needs to defend his people as “we continue to work with Congress to meet those needs,” he said.

Biden “will underscore our crystal clear message to any actor, state or non-state, trying to take advantage of this crisis to attack Israel: Don’t,” Blinken said, noting the deterrent measures the US has already undertaken.

The president “will continue to coordinate closely with our Israeli partners to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas, including men, women, small children, Holocaust survivors, and American citizens,” Blinken said.

“President Biden will receive a comprehensive brief on Israel’s war aims and strategy,” the top US diplomat said.

In addition to visiting Israel on Wednesday, the president will also visit Jordan — a nearby crucial ally to the US. There he’ll meet with a critical group of Middle East leaders including King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to the White House.

John Kirby, National Security Council spokesperson, told reporters that the focus of Biden’s Jordan stop will be on humanitarian assistance amid the deepening crisis.

Kirby said Biden “will certainly reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. And he’ll discuss again the humanitarian needs of all civilians in Gaza.”

In Amman, Biden will “make it clear that we want to continue to work with all our partners in the region, including Israel, to get humanitarian assistance and again to provide some sort of safe passage for civilians to get out.”

The entire trip will take place “over the course of a single day,” Kirby said. 

Sajah Naggar says the last week has “been literal hell” as she waits for word on her sister Sarah Naggar, who is stranded in Gaza City with her husband and their four children.

“Every time my phone rings I jump,” Sajah Naggar, who lives in Riverside, California, told CNN. “It’s unfortunate to say, but it’s like I’m expecting bad news because it’s so many people are dying, so many people are getting hurt.”

Sajah Naggar said communication with her sister has been pretty sparse — she got a message that her sister was alive on Sunday after days of silence.

“We don’t have any real conversations. It’s just her letting us know that she’s alive because the bombing is literally all around her,” Sajah Naggar said. “And the bombing is everywhere. There’s not one safe spot in Gaza.”

Naggar said her sister, her husband, Fady Elnajjar, and their children — ages 13, 11, 9 and 2 — are all Palestinian-Americans and US citizens.

The children grew up in California and are traumatized by the situation, she said.

They have been living in Gaza for almost a year, because her brother-in-law’s family are all there.

Naggar said her sister got an email telling them to move south, but the family has stayed in their Gaza City home because they didn’t feel safe evacuating due to the Israeli bombardments.

“They’re US citizens, you know, the US should be doing something about this to save its people,” Naggar said. “If it was US citizens in any other country, it would be completely different, but because it’s in Gaza, it’s just like they’re stuck there.”

The family only has the food they had on hand before the war and are not sure how long that will last.

Five other family members, all American citizens, had traveled recently to Gaza to visit and are now stranded because of the war, Naggar said. They have been able to move south.

Naggar said her family is praying for good news, but it is hard to have hope.

“We definitely do want our sister home safely and my uncles back safely, but we also want the safety of every Gazan and every Palestinian in Palestine right now,” she said. “We want not just a ceasefire, honestly, we want it to be a solution that will be a long-term solution so that the kids and families and everyone in Palestine can feel secure in their life.”

The number of humanitarian staff killed while on duty in Gaza has risen to 31, after an Israeli airstrike killed seven civil defense members on Monday, according to a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 

The statement added that Gaza is under “full electricity blackout” for the sixth day, warning of the repercussions on the healthcare system in the strip. 

Earlier, UNRWA, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, said at least 1 million people had been forced to flee their homes in one week alone and at least 400,000 displaced people are taking shelter in UN schools and buildings in Gaza. 

Meanwhile, UNICEF-led WASH Cluster warned that the Gaza population is at “imminent risk of death or infectious disease outbreak” if water and fuel are not allowed to enter the strip. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told CNN Sunday that Israel has restored water to the south of the strip, but the director of Gaza’s water authority disputed that Monday. 

The government’s media office in Gaza also warned that the strip is “on the brink of a real famine as goods in stores are running out, and no aid is coming to the displaced individuals.” 

The World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement that it provided bread to 107,192 internally displaced people in south Gaza on Sunday, but stressed the need for humanitarian aid to enter the strip.

“We urgently need access through all borders to replenish stocks & deliver assistance,” WFP added. 

A New Jersey man who hasn’t heard from his father since the Hamas attacks flew to Israel to be with his family and await news, according to CNN affiliate WPVI.

The family says Danil Kimenfeld, 64, was fishing on a beach just north of Gaza on the morning of October 7, according to News 12 New Jersey, and while the family heard from him after the attacks started, they haven’t heard from him since.

“He called us and told us he was going into a shelter at 6:30, and since then, we never heard from him back,” Dani Kimenfeld’s son, Igor Kimenfeld, told the New Jersey station on Thursday. “He went there with a friend and they’re both missing.”

Igor Kimenfeld, who flew to Israel to be with his mother and brother, said he gave DNA samples as part of the search for his father. 

On Friday, Igor Kimenfeld was told that his DNA didn’t match any of the dead, he told WPVI.

“I’m getting a lot of phone calls … from his colleagues, and they’re all crying and supporting us,” Igor Kimenfeld told News 12 New Jersey Friday.

The Kuwaiti Hospital in Gaza’s Rafah city said Monday that it had received a second warning to evacuate from Israeli’s military, but the director-general says he will not leave the site.

In a video obtained by CNN, Sohaib al-Hams, the hospital’s director general, said that he won’t evacuate because it is his staff’s duty “to serve the wounded and help the needed” and they can’t leave their patients to die.  

He added that the hospital should be protected “under international law.”  

Israel’s warnings for the hospital come as UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said on Monday that there is an “urgent need for a humanitarian pause” in the fighting in Gaza. 

Shamdasani said there are hospitals that have been forced to evacuate but “doctors are insisting that they will stay with patients who are in the ICU wards and the neonatal units, where you have the impossible choice of whether to abandon your patients or to stay with them and risk death.” 

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

Airstrikes in the south: Israeli authorities told more than a million people living in north Gaza to evacuate to the southern part of the densely populated strip. But Israeli airstrikes have continued to hit parts of the strip outside the evacuation zone, like Rafah, where at least five people were killed and 15 others were injured in an Israeli airstrike on Monday, according to the Palestinian interior ministry. The ministry said the airstrike happened without prior warning from the Israel Defense Forces.

A humanitarian crisis: Last Monday, Israel announced a complete siege on Gaza, cutting off food, water, and fuel to the territory. The World Health Organization warned that the people in Gaza face an “imminent” public health crisis, saying the limited amount of water is creating a desperate situation as the lives of more than 3,500 patients in 35 hospitals are at immediate risk.

The family of Palestinian Americans currently stuck in Gaza filed a lawsuit Friday against the US Department of State and the US Department of Defense for allegedly failing to safely evacuate citizens, according to a released statement. 

The complaint was filed Friday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of Zakaria A. Alarayshi and Laila K. Alarayshi— US citizens who are “of Palestinian ethnicity and residents of Dearborn, Michigan … currently trapped abroad in the Gaza Strip,” according to the lawsuit.  

The couple left Michigan to “visit family residing there in the Gaza Strip. They left the United States before the commencement of the current hostilities unaware that they were on the horizon,” said the complaint.  

“They just hit the house next to us. We are scared,” the Alarayshi family said in a statement released by their attorneys. “We can’t go to the bathroom; we can’t go anywhere. We don’t have electricity, we’re without water, there’s nothing. I think we are going to die before we leave.”

Attorneys with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) along with the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) are working with the couple’s son, Yahya Alarayshi, who authorized lawyers to file the complaint on behalf of the family after they lost all communication with his parents for 24 hours, the complaint said.   

ACRL and ADC “accuse the US Government of unconstitutionally discriminating against Palestinian Americans by not securing their safety and well-being,” the attorney statement read. 

“Our lawsuit underscores a grave concern: the deeply troubling inaction of the US Government in ensuring the safety and well-being of its own citizens. We believe that every American deserves the unequivocal support and protection of their government when faced with life-threatening circumstances,” said Abed Ayoub, ADC national executive director. 

“Many families in the US seeking help to get their loved ones out of Gaza feel that Secretary (Antony) Blinken is not making their safety a priority. The Biden Administration is failing in its duty to protect all civilian and American lives in Gaza. I cannot believe I have to beg our country to value every human life, no matter their faith or ethnicity. We cannot lose sight of the humanity in each other,” Tlaib said.  

The Israel Defense Forces early on Tuesday morning local time said it is currently striking Hezbollah “terror” targets in Lebanon.

Hamas released a video Monday night of a young French-Israeli woman being held hostage in the Gaza Strip.

In the video, Mia Schem, 21, says she suffered an arm injury and was brought to Gaza. 

A representative for Schem’s family told CNN they had approved the publication and broadcast of the video.

This is the first video Hamas has released of any of the hostages held in Gaza. Israeli authorities have said that they believe 199 people are being held in Gaza, while a representative of Hamas said Monday that at least between 200-250 captives are being held across the strip.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it had informed Schem’s family about her kidnapping last week and are keeping in touch with them at this time.

They said further that they are using “all intelligence and operational means to return the abductees” and that “Hamas is trying to present itself as a humanitarian organization while acting as a hideous terrorist organization responsible for killing and kidnapping infants, women, children and the elderly.”

A representative of Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ militant branch, earlier said the group was “committed” to protecting hostages and that it would release hostages with foreign citizenship when “the opportunity arises on the ground.”

Schem’s mother, Keren Schem, said she had hoped her daughter was alive before seeing the video.

“My princess, my baby, is alive,” she said to Israel’s Channel 12. “I did not know anything, and I had hoped that she is alive.”
“I could see that she went through something like a surgery, that she is in pain, scared, but thank God she is stable,” Keren Schem said, referring to her daughter’s arm injury and treatment shown in the Hamas-released video. “Wow, a sigh of relief.”

Keren Schem said she began to believe her daughter was abducted on October 7 after word of the Hamas attacks began to spread, remarking that her family has been doing “everything alone” to work for the return of her daughter, including opening up a “communication center.”

Israel’s military airstrikes on Gaza killed at least 254 and injured 562 — mostly women and children — over the past 24 hours, the Hamas-controlled Government Media Office said in a statement on Monday. 

Earlier, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that at least 2,778 were killed and 9,938 injured by Israeli airstrikes over the past 10 days, calling it an “ethnic cleansing” that must be stopped. 

The health ministry spokesperson said 1,200 people have been reported missing under the rubble, including 500 children, while the Government Media Office said “hundreds of students” were killed. 

The statement added that airstrikes have “completely demolished” 3,731 residential buildings, housing more than 10,000 housing units, and severely damaged 18 schools in the strip since October 7. 

Some context: On October 9, the Israeli Defense Minister ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, halting the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel to the territory’s population of 2 million. In the week since, Gazans have reported near-constant Israeli bombardment from the air, destroying residential buildings and killing aid workers and other civilians. Civilians have been killed while fleeing on designated evacuation routes. And with Israel closing its border crossings with Gaza and the Rafah crossing with Egypt also seemingly closed and damaged from Israeli airstrikes, there is no way for viable way for Gaza residents to leave the embattled enclave.

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is still closed, leaving humanitarian supplies piling up on the Egyptian side of the border.

Neither Gazans nor foreign nationals have been able to cross, and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is placing the blame on Israel, saying there has been no progress in efforts to open the crossing.

The worsening conditions come as Israel seems poised for an imminent ground incursion.

Here’s what else to know:

Rafah crossing: Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have abandoned their homes in the north after Israel warned them to evacuate southward. But, Israel has closed its two border crossings with Gaza and imposed a “complete siege” of the territory. That has left the Rafah crossing as the only viable outlet to get people out of the enclave – and supplies into it. Hamas urged Egypt to open the crossing so that aid can come in and those who have been injured can be transported for treatment. Also complicating matters: border authorities have not managed to repair Israeli airstrike damage to the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing, a Palestinian official said.

Personal stories and global aid: A family of five Palestinian-Americans, all US citizens, said they waited for several hours to cross the border with Egypt, but remain stuck in Gaza with limited supplies and electricity. UN agencies have supplies at the ready to move into southern Gaza, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The European Union also said it is launching a humanitarian air bridge operation to Egypt that will bring supplies to the enclave, the European Commission president said.

Dwindling water supply: The director of Gaza’s water authority said on Monday that water supply has not yet been restored to the enclave. The World Health Organization warned that the people in Gaza face an “imminent” public health crisis, saying the limited amount of water is creating a desperate situation as the lives of more than 3,500 patients in 35 hospitals are at immediate risk.

Israeli strikes: At least five people were killed and 15 others were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a multi-story house in Rafah in the southern Gaza strip, the Palestinian interior ministry said. The ministry said the airstrike happened without prior warning from the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF issued the guidance Friday, telling all civilians in north Gaza to evacuate to areas south. However, some Palestinians who followed the warnings and fled their homes in search of safety were killed by Israeli airstrikes outside of the evacuation zone. 

The latest on hostages: Hamas is holding between at least 200 and 250 hostages captured during the attack, according to Abu Odaida, the spokesperson of Hamas’ militant wing, Al-Qassam Brigades. He added that they cannot determine the exact number of hostages in the strip due to constant Israeli bombardment. Abu Obaida claimed 22 of the hostages in Gaza were killed in Israeli airstrikes (CNN cannot independently verify that claim). Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza. 

Fears of a regional conflict: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the conflict in Israel risks spilling over regionally. Meanwhile, the Israeli government ordered the evacuation of 28 villages in northern Israel within two kilometers of the country’s border with Lebanon amid an exchange of fire between Israel and members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said they are working to prevent an escalation of the conflict.

Blinken visits Israel: In his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “received an update on the situation on the ground,” a State Department spokesperson said. He also met with the Israeli “war cabinet” including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and opposition leader Yair Lapid during the trip, the spokesperson and reporters said. Separately, discussions are underway for President Joe Biden visit to the Middle East after Netanyahu extended an invitation, though the White House said Sunday it has no new travel plans to announce.

US support: The Pentagon has ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, according to multiple defense officials. A US Marine rapid response force is also headed to the waters off the coast of Israel, according to a defense official. While the US is bolstering its presence in the Middle East, US officials have made clear there are no plans for US troops to become directly involved in any Israeli military operations against Hamas.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict in calls with several leaders on Monday, the Kremlin said.

Putin spoke with leaders from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Iran and Egypt.  

The Russian president told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Russia is ready to help end the conflict peacefully, by diplomatic means, according to a Kremlin readout of the call. 

“Fundamental readiness to continue carrying out purposeful work in the interests of ending the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation and achieving a peaceful settlement through political and diplomatic means was confirmed,” it read.

During his conversation with the five leaders on Monday, Putin blamed the current escalation in the Middle East on “the long-term stagnation” in settling the conflict, Kremlin readout said. 

The Russian president emphasized during the calls “the severity of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to lift the blockade of the sector for the immediate delivery of medicine, food and other vital aid,” according to the Kremlin.  

President Joe Biden is deliberating whether to make a wartime visit to Israel, a potential trip fraught with risk that could also act as a dramatic show of support for a top US ally while sending a warning to other countries in the region against escalation.

Aides said the president has expressed a strong interest in making the journey after being invited over the weekend by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Biden has known for four decades. 

The risks of a presidential visit to Israel are not small. On Monday, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was meeting with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, air sirens blared, forcing the two men to shelter in place.

In weighing Netanyahu’s invitation with his team, Biden has factored in both the symbolism of a visit and its practicalities. Aside from a high-profile show of support for Israel, the trip would send a warning to other players in the region, namely Iran and its Hezbollah proxy in Lebanon, of becoming further engaged in the conflict.

But it would also link Biden more closely with the Israeli response in Gaza, including concerns over a mounting humanitarian crisis, and could act as a tacit endorsement of Netanyahu’s decisions. 

The pressure on Biden to encourage restraint was evident Monday in front of the White House, where a large protest led by progressive Jewish groups called on Biden to push for a ceasefire. Loud singing and chanting could be heard from inside the gates. 

Biden has originally planned to spend Monday in Colorado talking about wind energy. But that trip was scrapped at the last minute, and the president instead received briefings from his national security team and made phone calls to the leaders of Germany, Egypt and Iraq.

The unusual cancellation of Biden’s visit out west marked yet another example of how last weekend’s cross-border Hamas attack has forced an immediate reorienting of the president’s priorities and schedule as he confronts the realities of a new war.

The conflict is also forcing a new assessment of the administration’s immediate foreign policy priorities, with the reality setting in that renewed violence in the Middle East will now occupy the bulk of the president’s time, at least in the near-term.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet for more than seven hours, going into the overnight hours in Tel Aviv.

It is unclear when the meeting, which was briefly interrupted by air raid sirens, will end. It comes at a critical point as Israel seems poised for a ground invasion of Gaza, the Rafah border crossing appears to remain closed and has been damaged by Israeli airstrikes, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, and hundreds of hostages remain in Hamas custody. 

Blinken’s stop in Israel is part of his whirlwind seven-nation tour of the Middle East. He is expected return to Amman, Jordan, from Tel Aviv.

This post has been updated with the latest information.

A US Marine rapid response force is headed to the waters off the coast of Israel, according to a defense official familiar with the planning.

The force, consisting of 2,000 Marines and sailors, will join a growing number of US warships and forces converging on Israel as the US seeks to send a message of deterrence to Iran and prevent the war in Gaza from spilling over into a regional conflict. 

The move comes as the US military is bolstering its presence in Middle East, including deploying a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and sending Air Force fighter jets to the region. CNN reported earlier that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, according to multiple defense officials.

The order does not mean that the troops definitely will deploy, or that any will serve in a combat role if they do go to Israel, officials said. But Austin’s decision has shortened the time the identified troops will have to prepare for a deployment if they are ordered to go, according to officials. 

The US already has one carrier strike group in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and a second on the way. The official would not specify where the Marine unit would go, but it could remain in the Red Sea off Israel’s southern coast, which would put US forces near the country’s two coastlines.

The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group. In recent days, it has been stationed near Kuwait as part of a scheduled exercise there, but it departed early “as a result of emerging events,” Capt. Angelica White, a spokeswoman for the unit, told the Marine Corps Times last week.

CNN reported on Friday that the unit was preparing for a possible move toward Israel.

The Marine unit specializes in tasks such as amphibious operations, crisis response, humanitarian assistance and certain special operations. The unit is on board the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship that is currently in the Gulf of Oman, officials said.

The USS Bataan and the 26th MEU have been operating in the Middle East since August as part of an effort to deter Iranian aggression in the critical waterways around of the region, including the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. 

The Biden administration is prioritizing threats against communities in the United States impacted by the war between Israel and Hamas, President Joe Biden said in a statement released Monday on the latest FBI hate crime statistics. 

“To those Americans worried about violence at home, as a result of the evil acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas in Israel, we see you. We hear you,” Biden said.

He said he asked officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland, “to prioritize the prevention and disruption of any emerging threats that could harm Jewish, Muslim, Arab American, or any other communities during this time.”  

“My Administration will continue to fight Antisemitism and Islamophobia,” the statement said.

Biden noted that while overall hate crime levels remained steady, antisemitic hate crimes rose 25% from 2021 to 2022 and hate crimes against LGBTQI+ people rose 16%. The president also said Muslim and African Americans continued to be overrepresented among victims. 

CNN reported earlier Monday that overall crime statistics showed violent crime in the US decreased slightly last year, while the estimated volume of property crimes increased.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, according to multiple defense officials.

The order does not mean that the troops definitely will deploy, or that any will serve in a combat role if they do go to Israel, officials said.

But Austin’s decision has shortened the time the identified troops will have to prepare for a deployment if they are ordered to go, officials said. 

The order to be ready for potential deployment comes as the US military is bolstering its presence in Middle East, including deploying a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean Sea sending Air Force fighter jets to the region.

Austin issued the order on Sunday night and asked the services and combatant commands to report back how many troops they can provide and from where. 

No plans for direct involvement: US officials have made clear there are no plans for US troops to become directly involved in any Israeli military operations against Hamas.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report about the potential deployment of troops to Israel. Asked about the possible movement, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Monday: “I don’t have more to provide at this time. I might be able to give you more details later, but at this time I just don’t have anything more specific to add to.”

The Pentagon is trying to be careful about how it talks about the potential deployment of US troops to Israel, officials said, since it does not want to give the impression that American forces could become directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. 

Officials stressed that the US servicemembers would not take part in the war between Israel and Gaza, which Israeli officials have warned could be prolonged and difficult. But it does suggest the type of assistance the US could provide in an ongoing conflict, including managing logistics away from the front lines and offering medical support.

US military bolstering presence: The preparations come just days after Austin ordered that a second aircraft carrier be deployed to the eastern Mediterranean, as Israel fights a war against Hamas. The first carrier strike group, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived off the coast of Israel last week.

In addition, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, a rapid reaction force capable of conducting special operations, is making preparations in case it is ordered closer to Israel to bolster the US force posture there, multiple US officials told CNN. 

The unit, which is on board the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, is composed of more than 2,000 Marines and sailors and would be capable of supporting a large-scale evacuation. Among the mission essential tasks for a Marine Expeditionary Unit are evacuation operations and humanitarian assistance.

When Palestinians in north Gaza heeded the warnings issued in the Israeli military’s phone calls, text messages, and fliers advising them to head south, they thought they were fleeing to potential safety.

The Israeli Defense Forces issued the guidance Friday, telling all civilians in north Gaza to evacuate to areas south of Wadi Gaza “for your own safety and the safety of your families” as the IDF continues “to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians.” 

However, some Palestinians who followed the evacuation warnings and fled their homes in search of safety suffered the very fate they were running from: Israeli airstrikes killed them outside of the evacuation zone. 

The killings underscore the reality that evacuation zones and warning alerts from the Israeli military haven’t guaranteed safety for civilians in the densely populated Gaza Strip, where Palestinians have no safe place to escape Israeli bombs. 

In the early hours on Friday, Aaed Al-Ajrami and his nephew, Raji, received a phone call from an Israeli military official, warning him to get everyone he knows and head southwards immediately, the nephew told CNN. Despite following the instructions and successfully fleeing south of the evacuation zone, Aaed’s family was killed by an Israeli airstrike the next day.

An audio recording of the phone call obtained by CNN reveals the details of the brief conversation — which included the IDF’s instructions to flee south of the evacuation zone and no guidance on how to get there. Raji said once they realized who was calling, they recorded the conversation so they could share it with other family members.

Aaed wanted to know which road would be safe to take and what time they should leave. 

“It doesn’t matter which road,” the officer replied. “Do it as fast as you can. There is no time left.”

Aaed heeded the warning. By sunrise on Friday, he headed south with his family and relatives to stay with friends in Deir Al Balah, a city roughly eight miles south of Wadi Gaza and outside the evacuation zone. 

The next day, an Israeli airstrike in the area destroyed parts of the building where Aaed’s family sought refuge — killing him and 12 other members of his family, including seven children. 

His nephew Raji, 32, was staying in a different building nearby when he heard the explosion and feared the worst. He rushed to the scene after receiving a call telling him that his uncle’s family members were amongst the victims. 

“The destruction was massive,” Raji said. “We started digging people out who were hit by the explosion, some of them were still alive … the gunpowder smell was very strong, the dust was everywhere.” 

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment about the airstrike outside of the evacuation zone, including Deir Al Balah.

Read more of the report.

Hamas is holding between at least 200 and 250 hostages captured in the October 7 attacks, according to Abu Odaida, the spokesperson of Hamas’ militant wing, Al-Qassam Brigades. 

Abu Obaida said in a video statement Monday that the Al-Qassam Brigades has about 200 hostages, while the rest are being held by other “militant formations” in Gaza.

He added that they cannot determine the exact number of hostages in the strip due to constant Israeli bombardment. 

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza. 

Abu Obaida also claimed 22 of the hostages in Gaza were killed in Israeli airstrikes, including an Israeli artist who he said died on Saturday. 

CNN cannot independently verify those claims. 

He added that Al-Qassam Brigades will be releasing hostages holding foreign citizenship when “the opportunity arises on the ground,” and said Al-Qassam is “committed” to protecting them. 

He also warned that any foreign national serving with the Israeli military will be considered a “direct enemy.”

Meanwhile, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal claims Hamas has “enough hostages,” including high ranking officers from the Gaza division of the Israeli Defense Forces, to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Meshaal told Alaraby TV in a live interview on Monday. 

“One of this battle’s goals was to take Israeli soldiers and officers hostage to clear Zionist prisons from our own people,” Meshaal said, adding that Hamas will be dealing with civilians and foreign nationals differently. 

“Military hostages have their own calculations, civilians and foreign nationals have others,” Meshaal said. “Hamas leadership will deal with hostages in accordance with international and humanitarian law.” 

CNN cannot verify Meshaal’s claims about how hostages are being treated.

CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury contributed reporting to this post.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has just returned from Tel Aviv, urged the Senate to pass an aid package for Israel quickly, as well as confirm the administration’s nominee for Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew as soon as possible.  

“As the first Jewish majority leader, as the highest ranking Jewish elected official ever in America, I wanted to be there,” he said of his trip to Israel. “And I felt an obligation to be there. It was a trip I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

He noted that he has been speaking to the administration about the need for an aid package for Israel.

“In the coming days. I will be working with the administration on putting together an emergency supplemental that will give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself. That means military assistance, intelligence assistance, diplomatic assistance, and humanitarian assistance to care for innocent civilians,” said Schumer. 

“We want to move this package quickly. The Senate must go first. I know that the House is in disarray, but we cannot wait for them,” he added, referencing the House Republicans’ struggle to nominate a speaker candidate that can prevail on the floor.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Schumer’s sentiments in his Monday floor remarks, saying that the US needs to “reaffirm our commitment” to Israel.

“This is not merely a terrorist war against Israel, it’s is part of a clear and present danger to the United States and the entire civilized world,” he said. “This, Madam President, is a time for choosing as Israel works to eliminate the terrorists who threaten its existence. The United States must reaffirm our commitment to Israel security, and we must continue to demonstrate by our leadership that no country should offer safe haven to those who aid and abet terror.”

“The surest way to stop violence against Israelis and oppression of Palestinians is to wipe terrorists like Hamas from the face of the earth,” McConnell said. “As Israel’s closest ally, the United States must lead by our example, in supporting its efforts to defend itself, for as long as it takes.”

Schumer, meanwhile, also called for the Senate to confirm Jack Lew as the new Ambassador to Israel “as soon as possible, without any costly partisan delays, so we can bring him to the floor and confirm him with all due haste,” Schumer said. “Mr. Lew has proven himself a strong public servant, a ferocious ally of Israel. So delaying him would be egregious at a time like this, we must move him quickly.”

He added that he will bring up a resolution this week to highlight US support for Israel.

“I urge every single member of the Senate — Democrat and Republican, Independent — to unanimously support the resolution championed by Chairman (Sen. Ben) Cardin, Ranking Member (Sen. Jim ) Risch, Leader McConnell and myself, condemning Hamas and affirming that we stand with Israel and their right to defend themselves,” Schumer said.

On a more personal note, Schumer spoke about how speaking with the families of hostages taken by Hamas affected him as the descendant of Holocaust survivors.

“Nothing prepared us for the overwhelming grief we felt talking to the families of the hostages and sharing their deep pain,” he said. “In 1941, they told my grandmother to gather her family, her greater family on her porch. She did, about 35 people according to what my grandmother told me. Her daughter, who had come to America told me there were about 35 people from ages 88 to three months. The Nazis said ‘You’re coming with us,’ she said, ‘We’re not moving.’ They machine-gunned every one of them down. History is repeating itself and an evil and awful way.”

Schumer highlighted the importance of destroying Hamas and defended Israel’s right to take military action in order to defend itself from the terrorist group.

“I believe our trip went a significant way in pushing back against the dangerous false equivalency between what Hamas is doing and the response against them,” he said. “Let us be clear, Hamas is an evil organization that wants to see Israel wiped off the face of the map. They don’t believe in a two state solution. They want no Israel and no Jews living between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. Eliminating Israel is part of their charter. So is the killing of Jews.”

However, he also echoed the administration’s urging that Israel do what it can to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.

Hamas is barred from many social media platforms. But its following has surged on popular messaging app Telegram since its October 7 terror attack on Israel.

One account belonging to the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, has seen its following triple, and there has been a ten-fold increase in the number of views of videos and other content posted by the account.  

Hamas is a designated foreign terror organization in the United States, and new internet laws in the European Union mean large social media platforms can face penalties for hosting terroristic content.

Meta and Google prohibit Hamas accounts, but Telegram, a company founded by a Russian entrepreneur which is now based in Dubai, has decided to allow the group to continue use its service.  

X, formerly Twitter, says it also has a ban on Hamas and has removed “hundreds” of “Hamas-affiliated accounts.” Last week, however, the European Union announced it was opening an investigation into the company about disinformation and illegal content about the conflict on its platform. 

Because of its very loose content moderation rules, Telegram has become popular among extremist groups internationally and among far-right groups in the United States, said Brian Fishman, who formerly ran the team at Meta that tackled terrorist and other dangerous organizations and who now works at Cinder, a trust and safety company he co-founded. 

Telegram’s popularity in the US began to grow after the January 6th attack on the US Capitol when prominent peddlers of election conspiracy theories began using the platform after they were kicked off sites like Facebook and Twitter. Some 800 million people use Telegram globally, its founder says.  

Fishman said while the huge growth in the number of people following Hamas’ Telegram accounts is concerning, it doesn’t mean all the followers are supporters — pointing out that many journalists, researchers and others are likely following the accounts.  

But he said Telegram can be an effective propaganda tool.

“I think it’s really concerning when a group can get its message out to a wider range of folks,” he said. “And some of those people are going to be force multipliers because they’ll take that material and they’re going to post it on other platforms. That’s really the model we saw with ISIS.” 

The US continues to believe that a handful of Americans were taken hostage by Hamas but there is nothing known about the conditions of the captives, a US official tells CNN. 

The administration’s ongoing efforts to ascertain information about those American hostages remain very much in the “same place,” the official said, and consultation with partners in the region continues.

The US also continues to operate under the assumption that these hostages may not be gathered in one place, the official added. 

Since Hamas’ devastating surprise attack on Israel began last weekend, the administration has had minimal information about Americans taken hostage by Hamas. In fact, it took several days for US officials even confirm that Americans were among the hostages – a sign of the extraordinary challenge the administration confronts when it comes to the prospects of recovering missing Americans. 

More on hostages: Israel said Monday that it believes 199 hostages are being held in Gaza and that it had notified all the families. It’s not clear exactly how many Americans are among the captives.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden spoke with family members of the Americans who are “unaccounted for” in Israel and pledged that he would do everything possible to ensure their safe return.

No United Nations fuel trucks have entered into Gaza through the Rafah crossing, a UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) spokesperson said Monday.

UNRWA has been moving its limited amount of fuel inside Gaza and plans to make it available to health providers, UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma told reporters. 

UNRWA has been unable to bring in any supplies into Gaza since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7 and Touma called for Israel to end the siege of the Palestinian enclave.

Meanwhile, one million people have been displaced within Gaza and there continues to be no water for the vast majority of the two million people living in the enclave.

The majority of the 14 UNWRA staffers who have been killed were teachers, Touma said. The staffers who remain in Gaza are living in fear want to be taken out of this “hell hole,” and the level of desperation is going up, Touma said.

Time is running out for hospitals in Gaza, relief workers say, as they struggle to field mass casualties, diminished electricity supplies and rampant drug shortages caused by Israel’s siege on the Palestinian enclave.

Civilians who fled to southern Gaza, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told them to leave northern parts of the densely-populated strip following the deadly Hamas attacks, have been killed by Israeli strikes at evacuation sites, health workers reported.

More than half a million people have been displaced inside Gaza, the Palestinian Authority said on Monday. Israel’s assault has killed at least 2,750 people and injured more than 9,700, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Monday.

Human rights bodies warned the IDF’s evacuation order is in violation of international law.

Mahmoud Shalabi, the senior programme director for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), said Israeli attacks were concentrated in southern Gaza overnight on Monday.

In one instance, a doctor working inside Al-Aqsa Hospital told Shalabi 80 Palestinians were killed, including 60 who were internally displaced people from Gaza City.

The doctor was working in the largest hospital in the middle area of Gaza, located south of Wadi Gaza, where the Israeli military encouraged civilians to flee for safety ahead of an anticipated ground assault.

“Many internally displaced people have died last night in those alleged safe areas,” Shalabi said on Monday. “When the Israelis are talking about safe shelters, there are no safe shelters.”

Israeli airstrikes also killed five firefighters in Gaza who were trying to rescue people from a destroyed house, Shalabi said, adding that many ambulances have been hit.

An Israeli blockade on fuel, food and water entering Gaza has choked the health care system inside the strip, as rights groups ramp up calls for an emergency corridor to be established for the transfer of humanitarian aid.

Ghassan Abu-Sitta, a British-Palestinian surgeon working with MAP in Gaza, said the sight of lone Palestinian children whose families have been killed by Israeli strikes, is “one of the most heartbreaking things you can ever see.”

“You have difficulty understanding how, while the emergency department is full of screaming relatives and patients and doctors and nurses rushing round, then you come to this quite place, where there is a trolley and a wounded child — and no one around them except the medical staff,” he said, while working inside Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, on Sunday.

“This is a war against children. Even the survivors, they will spend the rest of their lives on their own,” he said.

Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the enclave, in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 people. Israel also said Monday at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza.

CNN’s Abeer Salman and Manveena Suri contributed reporting.

The European Union is launching a humanitarian air bridge operation to Egypt that will bring supplies to Gaza, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Monday.

“Following the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas terrorists against Israel and the aftermath, which has led to a disastrous humanitarian situation for the people of Gaza, the EU continues to step up its emergency assistance to the Palestinian people,” the European Commission said in a statement. 

The EU air bridge will be “consisting of several flights to Egypt to bring lifesaving supplies to humanitarian organizations on the ground in Gaza,” the commission said.

The operation begins this week with two flights carrying humanitarian cargo from United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) including shelter items, medicines and hygiene kits, according to the EU.

The European Commission president also announced this weekend that the EU is raising its humanitarian aid to 75 million euros ($79 million) to support civilians in need in Gaza. 

The EU said “the funding will be channeled through selected EU humanitarian partners operating on the ground taking into account capacity and access.”

More on the border: The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the only viable outlet to get people out of the enclave and supplies into it.

But the crossing has been closed for much of the past week, with neither Gazans nor foreign nationals able to cross, and tons of vital humanitarian supplies for people in Gaza piling up on the Egyptian side of the border.

A family of five Palestinian-Americans, all US citizens, are stuck in Gaza with limited supplies and electricity after being unable to cross the border with Egypt on Monday, their family member told CNN. 

Four brothers — Hesham, Jamal, Esam and Nezam Kaoud — are stuck in Gaza, along with Esam’s 20-year-old son Ameer, Hesham’s wife, Haifa Kaoud told CNN. 

The brothers went to Gaza at the end of September to visit a family member and explore Gaza with Esam’s 20-year-old son, who had never left the United States, according to Haifa.

Family members in California and Texas are now desperately trying to find ways to bring their loved ones back home, Haifa told CNN. 

“We told them that news reports said that Egypt will open their borders, so they drove down to Rafah on Monday and waited for hours, but it never opened,” Haifa said. “They don’t have much electricity or internet access, so they depend on us for information.”

The brothers are currently sheltering with a family member in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza.

“The water is not clean and even though they still have food, they make sure not to eat too much so there’s enough for everyone,” Haifa said. “One of the brothers also takes heart medication and they’re concerned about that lasting, too.” 

In addition to driving to the border with Egypt, Hesham’s older brother, Jamal also reached out to the US Embassy in Jerusalem on behalf of the family but only received an email acknowledging that the embassy was looking into the matter, Haifa said. 

The Kaoud family has been in the United States for more than 50 years and most of its members have settled in California — except for Hesham and Haifa, who opened Milano’s Pizzeria in Waxahachie, Texas, more than six years ago, Haifa said.

The couple share two adult sons and an 8-year-old daughter, and it’s been hard to handle the family business while trying to figure out how to help her husband at the same time, Haifa told CNN.

“I’m trying to be strong and handle everything back home, but today after the border didn’t open, I felt down and hopeless. I don’t know what to do. I was a little bit strong until yesterday.”

A visit by the US President Joe Biden to Israel would have “strategic importance” for the entire Middle East, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday when asked about a possible visit.

“Its strategic importance is for the entire Middle East,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters. “The most senior representative of the USA comes to Israel for a full report on the war in the Middle East and all the action we have to take.”

Hagari noted Israel’s current focus is Gaza, “and the steps that we are going to take to prepare for war,” adding, “We are going to fight in a responsible and measured way.”

Some context: Discussions are underway for a possible Biden visit to the Middle East after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended an invitation to the US president, though the White House said Sunday it has no new travel plans to announce at this time. 

An American couple and their 1-year-old son are trying to get back home to Medford, Massachusetts, from the Gaza Strip after visiting relatives.  

Wafaa Abuzayda, Abood Okal and their son, Yousef, were supposed to leave last Friday but have been trapped since the Israel-Hamas war began more than a week ago, the family’s attorney, Sammy Nabulsi, told CNN in a phone interview.

The family has tried twice this week to cross into Egypt but haven’t been able to get through the Rafah Crossing, Nabulsi said. 

“Yesterday, Abood texted me that they’ve run out of drinking water, food is in short supply, they don’t have access to fuel, other than what’s already in their car, which is depleted,” Nabulsi said. 

The family was in Gaza visiting Abuzayda’s family before the attacks happened, Nabulsi said. 

Nabusli added that Okal’s sister and her three children, who are also US citizens, are with them.

Nabulsi said there were reports and communications from the US State Department by email and phone that the Rafah Crossing was to be open at 9 a.m. local time Monday.

In the hopes and expectations of being permitted into Egypt, Nabulsi told CNN that the family showed up just before 9 a.m. local time, but as of 7 p.m. local time, no one had been allowed over.

“I heard from the White House maybe in the last couple hours by phone and by email to confirm basically that at this moment, there is no specific or confirmed departure option for a single one of these American citizens in Gaza, and there’s no timeline about when that’s going to happen. This is crazy to me, just absolutely crazy to me,” Nabulsi said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet sheltered in a bunker for five minutes when air raid sirens went off in Tel Aviv on Monday, according to spokesperson Matt Miller.

The officials have since moved and are continuing discussions in a command center, Miller said.

Blinken’s meetings in Israel – his second round in less than a week – come as Israel seems poised for an imminent ground incursion. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed the importance of avoiding regional escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict during calls Monday with the presidents of the Palestinian Authority and Turkey. 

In a call with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, Sunak “expressed his condolences for the deaths of Palestinian civilians, who have been caught up in the aftermath of Hamas’s terror attack,” a Downing Street spokesperson said. 

“The leaders agreed on the importance of avoiding further regional escalation and ensuring calm” in the area, the spokesperson said. 

Sunak announced Monday that the United Kingdom will be sending 10 million pounds, or about $12.2 million, in aid to Palestinians affected by the conflict. 

Sunak also had a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Both leaders “agreed to work together to mitigate against further escalation,” the Downing Street spokesperson said.

“The leaders also agreed to work together with international partners to reinvigorate the Middle East Peace Process and bring about a peaceful and lasting resolution to this conflict,” the spokesperson said. 

The World Health Organization warned Monday that Gaza faces an “imminent” public health crisis as the enclave is running out of water.

The limited amount of water available is creating a desperate situation as the lives of more than 3,500 patients in 35 hospitals located in the Palestinian enclave are at immediate risk, the WHO said via the social media platform X.

The organization also called for “unobstructed access for humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

France will give 10 million euros — approximately $10.55 million — to United Nations agencies and humanitarian NGOs to help the population of Gaza, the French foreign minister told journalists Monday in Beirut.

The minister added that “a few dozen, perhaps a little more than 100” French citizens were present in Gaza, mainly in the southern part of the territory, and that France is working to “help them leave Gaza as quickly as possible.” 

Nineteen French citizens have been killed following the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, Colonna added.

A humanitarian envoy from the United Nations will travel to Cairo Tuesday for a mission that will last several days and include a visit to Israel, according to a news release from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Martin Griffiths, under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator for the United Nations, underscored the need for humanitarian aid to be accessed and expressed hope “the Rafah crossing point will open soon to allow aid into Gaza,” the release said.

Griffiths said Monday morning “that we’re living in the worst of times,” according to the statement.

UN agencies have supplies at the ready to move into southern Gaza, according to OCHA officials, who said its “critical that life-saving assistance is allowed to move through the Rafah crossing without delay.”

The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed this morning “on the latest updates in the wake of Hamas’s abhorrent attack in Israel and the resulting conflict in Gaza,” according to a statement.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients joined the briefing, which was led by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and CIA Director Bill Burns, the White House said.

On Monday afternoon, the White House released an image of the meeting.

Some more context: Biden was originally scheduled to travel to Pueblo, Colorado, to deliver remarks on wind energy but the White House on Monday announced Biden was scrapping the trip just hours before he was set to depart to instead hold meetings with his national security team.

Discussions are underway for a possible Biden visit to the Middle East after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended an invitation to Biden, though the White House said Sunday it has no new travel plans to announce at this time. 

The last-minute decision to cancel the trip to Pueblo, Colorado, to discuss his clean energy agenda underscores how seriously Biden is taking the conflict. Presidential travel is highly coordinated and requires extensive planning, and trips are rarely postponed on the day they are set to take place.

CNN’s Donald Judd and Kyle Feldscher contributed reporting to this post. 

Israel’s top domestic security official took responsibility Monday for the Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 people, according to the country’s Army Radio station.

In his first comments since the attacks of October 7, Shin Bet chief Ronan Bar wrote in a statement, “Despite a series of actions we carried out, we weren’t able to create a sufficient warning that would allow the attack to be thwarted.”

“The responsibility is on me,” Bar said.

Shin Bet is Israel’s domestic security agency, tasked with combating terrorism.

In remarks before the Knesset on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the security and intelligence failures leading to the Hamas attacks would be investigated by the government.

The father of a missing American-Israeli IDF soldier said he spoke with several US senators and the White House about his son and is in communication with the State Department and FBI.

Rubi Chen, father of Itay Chen, said he recently spoke with several US senators who traveled to Israel, including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer.

“They wanted to convey their sympathy and desire to help in any way,” Chen said. “We shared our personal stories – Sen. Schumer, he has his emotions on his sleeve. So he was really open on the fact that the emotions that he and the other senators are feeling is not something that will disappear in the short term, and actually will motivate them to take action.”

Chen was on the phone call with President Joe Biden last week and other families of missing Americans, he said. What was supposed to be a 15- or 20-minute call turned into a 90-minute conversation, he said.

“I think all of us felt that commitment of time and listening, and also sharing a little bit of his personal loss that he had as well,” Chen said. “It gave us that feeling that he cares deeply about this and has the best people on his team supporting to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible.”

Chen told CNN he is in contact with the State Department and FBI and has been assigned a case manager. There’s been “very open conversations and fluid flowing information between the two sides,” he said.

Chen said he hasn’t received any new information about his son who went missing after Hamas’ attack on Israel last Saturday.

Hamas on Monday urged Egypt to open the Rafah crossing so that aid can enter Gaza and those who have been injured can be transported for treatment.

“We specifically mention our brothers in Egypt and ask them for a regional and international movement to open Rafah crossing and to allow aid to enter for our people in Gaza and to transfer those injured for treatment,” Hamas said via the messaging platform Telegram.

In the wake of attacks by Hamas, Israel closed its border crossings with Gaza, which has been pummeled by Israeli airstrikes. That makes the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt the only viable outlet for people to leave the enclave and to send in supplies.

But the crossing has been closed for much of the past week, with neither Gazans nor foreign nationals able to cross, as vital humanitarian supplies pile up on the Egyptian side of the border.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with the Israeli “war cabinet” in Tel Aviv, according to the traveling press.

His meetings in Israel – his second round in less than a week – come as Israel seems poised for an imminent ground incursion.

Blinken said he wanted to return to Israel to discuss his meetings with regional Arab leaders, many of whom have strongly and publicly condemned Israel’s aerial campaign on Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Israel will “always have the support of the United States,” while speaking alongside Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv on Monday.

Blinken said the US had a “deep commitment to Israel’s right, indeed, its obligation to defend itself and to defend its people.”

Gallant, in turn, warned, “This will be a long war.”

An American serving in the Israeli military turned 22 on Friday after his parents say he was kidnapped by Hamas last weekend, according to family and his synagogue. 

Omer Neutra, from Long Island, New York, is among the IDF soldiers kidnapped by Hamas, his parents told CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week. 

Friday, October 14, marked his 22nd birthday, according to his parents and his synagogue.

“Omer was born in 2001, right after 9/11, as we all remember,” his mother, Orna Neutra, told CNN. “He grew up in New York – a very amazing mix, a very serious guy but a big goofball.”

At least six British citizens have been killed while 10 others remain missing following Hamas’ attacks on Israel, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed Monday. 

“With a heavy heart, I can inform the House (of Commons) that at least six British citizens were killed,” Sunak said while speaking at the House of Commons. “A further 10 are missing, some of whom are feared to be among the dead.” 

The United Kingdom is “working with Israel to establish the facts as quickly as possible,” the prime minister said.

“We are supporting the families who are suffering unimaginable pain,” he added.

US Embassy Cairo is tracking 253 US citizens, with 153 “associated family members,” requesting help to depart Gaza via the Rafah border crossing, according to an internal government memo obtained by CNN.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Sunday that “Rafah will be open” after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and announced President Joe Biden’s appointment of former Ambassador David Satterfield to help coordinate the US aid efforts. 

“Rafah will be open,” he said. “We’re putting in place with the UN, with Egypt, Israel, with others, the mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it.”

But hurdles remain. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said there has been no progress in efforts to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Monday, placing the blame for the continued closure of the crossing on Israel. 

In the memo, officials conveyed earlier warnings from the embassy, saying that the situation at the Rafah crossing “will remain fluid and unpredictable, and it is unclear whether, or for how long, travelers will be permitted to transit the crossing.”  

CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.

A CNN staffer in Gaza saw UN fuel trucks moving near but not through the Rafah border crossing on Monday. The fuel was being moved from one place in Gaza to other places inside the enclave.

The fuel trucks were transporting fuel from storage sites already in Gaza to health providers, according to the UN.

Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said that “this is fuel that already existed in Gaza and UNRWA transferred it from very close to the borders and into GAZA City where it’s going to health providers.”

Touma also said that since October 7, Gaza has not received any humanitarian aid.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza remains closed. The Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza also remains closed.  

Some more context: Egypt is facing mounting pressure to act as neighboring Gaza gets pummeled by Israeli strikes after last weekend’s brutal assault in Israel by Hamas.

In the wake of the Hamas attacks, Israel closed its two border crossings with Gaza (Kerem Shalom and Erez) and imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, blocking supplies of fuel, electricity and water.

It has left the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt as the only viable outlet to get people out of the enclave — and supplies into it.

But the crossing has been closed for much of the past week. Neither Gazans nor foreign nationals have been able to cross. Aid is stuck at the crossing as vital humanitarian supplies for people in Gaza are piling up on the Egyptian side of the border.

CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim contributed to this report.

Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that UN trucks didn’t cross through the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, according to UNRWA.

Border authorities have not managed to repair Israeli airstrike damage to the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, a Palestinian official told CNN Monday.  

The official told CNN that the damage has played a part in the delay opening the Egypt-Gaza border, saying that fears of further strikes in the vicinity “stopped any efforts to repair the damages sustained by previous airstrikes.” 

The official told CNN that over the weekend, Egyptian authorities installed cement slabs on the Egyptian side of the crossing following multiple Israeli airstrikes last week.  

In a video geolocated by CNN, debris can be seen scattered in the area across from the gate leading to the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side. In another image, several cement slabs are seen being placed by a crane, operating on the Egyptian side of the border. 

Some context: The Rafah crossing is the only remaining outlet for supplies, but it has been closed for much of the past week. Humanitarian supplies have been piling up on the Egyptian side of the border, and neither Gazans nor foreign nationals have been able to cross.

The floor of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, was evacuated briefly on Monday after sirens sounded in Jerusalem warning of incoming rocket fire.

“Sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Two CNN journalists also reported hearing sirens followed by several loud thuds in both cities.

Israeli lawmakers were asked to leave the floor and go to a nearby corridor, where they remained for several minutes until the all-clear was given.

Rockets in the Tel Aviv area on Monday wounded one woman, according to the Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s only national blood and medical emergency service.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in Tel Aviv for meetings with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and opposition leader Yair Lapid.

Earlier Monday, he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem. 

Blinken “discussed his engagements with partners in the region and received an update on the situation on the ground” in his meeting with Netanyahu, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a readout Monday.

In his meetings with Netanyahu and Herzog, Blinken reiterated the US’ support for “Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas’ terrorism,” Miller said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “discussed his engagements with partners in the region and received an update on the situation on the ground” in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said in a readout Monday.

In his meetings with Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Blinken reiterated the US’ support for “Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas’ terrorism,” Miller said.

Blinken discussed with Netanyahu “the United States’ close coordination with the UN and regional partners to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid to civilians.” 

With Herzog, he “discussed the coordination underway to focus on the safety and protection of civilians placed in harm’s way by Hamas,” according to a separate readout.

Blinken discussed the swift release of the hostages held by Hamas in both of his meetings, the readouts said.

At least five people were killed and 15 others were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a multi-story house in Rafah in the southern Gaza strip, the Palestinian interior ministry said Monday.

The ministry said the airstrike happened without prior warning from the Israel Defense Forces.

The IDF has not issued any comments about the strike.

The US government has officials in Ismailia, Egypt — “as close to the border” between Egypt and Gaza “as conditions permit,” a US official said Monday.

The US has “been trying” to get officials to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, but “the Egyptians have told us there are acute security threats there that prevent it,” the official told the traveling press.

The crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the only remaining outlet for supplies, but it has been closed for much of the past week. Humanitarian supplies have been piling up on the Egyptian side of the border, and neither Gazans nor foreign nationals have been able to cross.

Meanwhile, Americans in Gaza who spoke with CNN have had no luck getting into Egypt and the Rafah crossing has remained closed, despite US officials’ comments that it would be reopened.

One family told CNN they have been at Rafah since 9 a.m. local time, and the crossing is still closed.

Beseiso told CNN in a message on Friday morning that she managed to get through by phone to the US embassy and was told they have all the information for American citizens who filled out the online form and that she should wait for someone to contact them. She was also told to go to the Rafah crossing with her family where they can get through, she said.

“My family and I are very frightened,” Beseiso said. “Going to head south now.”

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Monday urged the United States and the international community to intervene to stop Israel’s airstrikes and blockade, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.

“The international community, mainly the American administration, is required to intervene urgently to stop the aggression, provide protection for the civilians and their homes, and prevent their displacement,” the prime minister said.

Shtayyeh also said during a weekly cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah that “Israel is targeting civilians, and the goal behind this blockade is mass killing and mass displacement.”

WAFA reported that the prime minister called for the immediate opening of safe corridors to facilitate the delivery of food and medical supplies and to evacuate the wounded, since hospitals in Gaza have become overcrowded.

Shtayyeh warned against the further displacement of people in the Gaza strip and creating a new Nakba, or “catastrophe,” referring to the period following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, when roughly 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes in what is now Israel.

“Our people will not leave their land or emigrate from it, no matter how heavy the sacrifices are. They are capable of confronting it and thwarting it just as they thwarted many liquidation and resettlement projects throughout the past times in the struggle,” the prime minister said, according to WAFA.

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship carrying US nationals has departed the Israeli port of Haifa for Cyprus.

The ship, “Rhapsody of the Seas,” can take up to 2,400 passengers — but a CNN team on the ground saw that the ship was well below capacity. People, young, and old, were processed through a check-in system with American flags dotted along the route.

Yehuda Halberg, a professor who emigrated to Israel from Athens, Georgia, in 2004, was with his family, carrying just a few belongings in backpacks. He was insistent that this was not a goodbye to Israel.

“I’m not leaving, so much as getting out of the way. But we’ll be back as soon as the school year starts and we’ll be here to help out, do what we need to do and rebuild,” he said.

Halberg said that he had come from the center of the country, and for the last week, he was driving soldiers to the front and bringing medical equipment in his small Renault Clio.

Sarah, a mother who was also boarding with her family, stopped to say, “Our hearts are staying here with the people [of Israel]. We’re simply taking some space and getting out of harms way.”

Sarah said she too had been helping out soldiers by cooking. She said they will return when there are “no more swords, only peace.”

Although families are on the move, Sarah’s 14-year-old daughter, Ariella, had reservations about making the trip.

“I think that we should stay in Israel with our nation and with our family. And I think we have to show support. What are we fighting for? We’re fighting for our country and for a home to call. A place to call home,” she insisted.

The US Embassy in Israel said Sunday the ship would leave Monday and spend about 10 to 12 hours at sea before arriving at the Limassol port in Cyprus, where citizens will be responsible for arranging their own accommodations and onward travel. The US embassy is providing the passage at a fee, but those boarding have yet to be given the bill.

The Israeli government on Monday ordered the evacuation of 28 villages in northern Israel within two kilometers of the country’s border with Lebanon.

“The implementation of the plan was approved by Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant,” a joint statement by Israel’s Ministry of Defense and the Israel Defense Forces says. “A short while ago, the Northern Command updated the heads of the local authorities on the decision. The plan will be implemented by the heads of the local municipalities, the Ministry of Interior and the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) of the Ministry of Defense.”

The 28 communities included in the plan are: Ghajar, Dishon, Kfar Yuval, Margaliot, Metula, Avivim, Dovev, Ma’ayan Baruch, Bara’m, Manara, Yiftach, Malkia, Misgav Am, Yir’on, Dafna, Arab al-Aramshe, Shlomi, Netu’a, Ya’ara, Shtula, Matat, Zari’t, Shomera, Betzet, Adamit, Rosh HaNikram, Hanita and Kfar Giladi.

Some context: News of the evacuation comes amid an exchange of fire on the border between Israel and members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. On Sunday, Israeli jets struck Hezbollah military targets in Lebanon, in response to nine rockets being fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory earlier in the day, the IDF said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Monday with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan about “diplomatic efforts to prevent the conflict from widening and to minimize the humanitarian costs of the war” in Israel, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

A senior Turkish official told CNN last week that Turkey is actively taking part in trying to secure the hostages taken by Hamas.

President Joe Biden is scrapping a trip to Colorado for “national security meetings,” the White House told pool reporters Monday.

The news comes as CNN reported over the weekend that discussions are underway for a possible visit to the Middle East after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended an invitation to Biden.

The White House said Sunday it had no new travel plans to announce at this time.

If Biden were to visit, it would come after high-stakes shuttle diplomacy by his Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has traveled to several countries in the region over the past few days.

Blinken arrived back in Israel Monday morning to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and opposition leader Yair Lapid, in addition to meetings with Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, per a US official.

Reporters are still waiting on an updated schedule for Biden at the White House today.

Every time Noor Barakat goes shopping for food, the prices are higher. Last week on Tuesday, there was no bread. Now it’s the fuel and water that is becoming a problem. Fruit and vegetables that are normally brought in from the north haven’t been coming.

The 22-year old English teacher lives in the Dheisheh Palestinian refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, an area that has been mostly cut off from the rest of the West Bank. Its residents are not allowed to leave and anyone visiting has to cross the checkpoint at its entrance on foot, leaving vehicles on the other side of the barricade.

The restrictions on movements have been imposed by the Israeli military after Hamas unleashed a terror attack on Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing 1,400 people and kidnapping scores of others.

Checkpoints have been shut and new roadblocks set up at various entry and exit points to the occupied West Bank.

Dheisheh is among the areas in the West Bank that are under Palestinian control, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) regularly conduct incursions and raids there.

The worry here is that Israel’s reaction to the Hamas attack will have devastating consequences for civilians in the West Bank.

The camp was first established in 1949 when 3,000 Palestinians settled there after being expelled or fleeing from villages west of Jerusalem. The camp’s population has since grown to more than 18,500 people who are still living in a built-up area of one-third of a square kilometer, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

“The kids are all depressed. They are not getting enough sleep, the news is on all the time. I tell [the children] we have to be patient and have to pray for, but the life has to go on. I say we can’t stop everything and just think about this,” she said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a potential “abyss in the Middle East,” as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens ahead of a likely Israeli ground offensive, and the escalating conflict risks spilling over regionally.

In a statement Sunday, Guterres issued urgent appeals to Israel and Hamas. “To Hamas, the hostages must be released immediately without conditions. To Israel, rapid and unimpeded aid must be granted for humanitarian supplies and workers for the sake of the civilians in Gaza.”

By Monday, little progress had been made regarding either of those appeals. Israel reported at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza – a sharp upward revision from the previous count of 155. And Palestinian officials said that Israel is still not supplying water to the densely populated enclave.

In the south, all eyes are on the Rafah crossing into Egypt – the last available exit to Gazans. And in the north, all eyes are on the movements of Israel’s Defense Forces ahead of any potential developments on the ground.

Here are the latest developments:

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has started meetings with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. 

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said there has been no progress in efforts to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference with his French counterpart, Shoukry blamed Israel for the continued closure of the crossing.

“The Israeli government has not yet taken a position that would allow the crossing to be opened from the Gaza side, allowing the entry of aid or the exit of citizens from third countries,” he said.

Egypt supports the opening of the crossing and that aid vehicles were standing by for permission to cross, Shoukry said.

“Egypt has been working since the beginning of this crisis and escalation to have the crossing open and allow the entry of humanitarian aid. A large number of it has been gathered in El-Arish,” he said. 

Five empty UN petrol trucks are now waiting at the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, hoping to cross over and refuel in Egypt, a Palestinian official responsible for the Rafah crossing told CNN on Monday.

The Israeli prime minister’s office denied Monday there are any arrangements for the opening of the Rafah border.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Jerusalem for his meetings with Israeli officials, according to the traveling press.

The top US diplomat did not travel to Jerusalem when he visited last week. Instead, the meetings were held in Tel Aviv, which is where the airport is located.

According to the TV pooler, the motorcade passed military vehicles on the roughly 35 minute drive to Jerusalem and the road was lined with Israeli flags. 

Dozens of unidentified bodies have been buried in mass graves in Gaza City, according to head of the Hamas-controlled government media office.

“Because dozens of other martyrs were incoming, children, babies, women, men, elders, we were inclined to perform our rightful and moral duty toward those martyrs to bury them. We have prepared a mass grave in the Emergency Grave to bury those who have not been identified,” Salama Marouf said in a video published on Sunday.

Social media videos verified by CNN show dozens of bodies wrapped in white plastic brought from Gaza’s Shifa hospital to a burial site where they were laid to rest in neat rows.

Gaza has come under intense bombardment from Israeli airstrikes in the days after Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on October 7.

Israeli military airstrikes have killed at least 2,750 people and injured more than 9,700, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said in a statement Monday.

In the West Bank, 58 people have been killed and more than 1,250 injured, the ministry added.

Some context: Casualties in Gaza since October 7 have surpassed the number of those killed during the 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict, a ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.

Until now, 2014 had been the deadliest year on record in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with at least 2,251 Palestinians killed in Gaza across 51 days of war, according to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The myriad tunnels under Gaza are best known as passageways used to smuggle goods from Egypt and launch attacks into Israel.

But there exists a second underground network that the Israel Defense Forces colloquially refer to as the “Gaza metro.” It’s a vast labyrinth of tunnels, by some accounts several kilometers underground, used to transport people and goods; to store rockets and ammunition caches; and house Hamas command and control centers, all away from the prying eyes of the IDF’s aircraft and surveillance drones.

Hamas in 2021 claimed to have built 500 kilometers (311 miles) worth of tunnels under Gaza, though it is unclear if that figure was accurate or posturing. If true, Hamas’ underground tunnels would be a little less than half the length of the New York City subway system.

“It’s a very intricate, very large – huge – network of tunnels on a rather small piece of territory,” said Daphne Richemond-Barak, a professor at Israel’s Reichman University and expert on underground warfare.

It’s unclear how much the tunnel network would have cost Hamas, which governs the impoverished coastal strip. The figure is likely significant, both in terms of manpower and capital.

Gaza has been under a land, sea and air blockade by Israel, as well as a land blockade by Egypt, since 2007 and is not believed to possess the type of massive machinery typically used to build tunnels deep underground. Experts say that diggers using basic tools likely burrowed deep underground to dig the network, which is wired with electricity and reinforced by concrete. Israel has long accused Hamas of diverting concrete meant for civilian and humanitarian purposes toward the construction of tunnels.

Hamas’ critics also say that the group’s massive expenditures on tunnels could have instead paid for civilian bomb shelters or early warning networks like those across the border in Israel.

Read more about the “Gaza Metro”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and opposition leader Yair Lapid, according to a US official.

Blinken will also meet Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, during his visit to the country.

In response to Hamas’ terror attack on October 7, Israel formed an emergency government and war management cabinet. Lapid did not join the emergency government.

The UN’s emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths reiterated Monday the desperate need for aid to get into Gaza.

“We need access for aid. We are in deep discussions with the Israelis, with the Egyptians and with others, hugely helped by Secretary (Antony) Blinken in his travels around the region,” Griffiths said in a video from the UN Monday.

Blinken has been on a whistle-stop tour of several Middle Eastern nations over the past few days, as part of an urgent effort to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas and a resulting civilian catastrophe in Gaza from escalating into a widening regional conflict.

After meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday, Blinken promised that the Rafah crossing into Egypt – the last remaining exit for Gazans – “will be open.”

“I’m hoping to hear some good news this morning about getting aid through Rafah… into Gaza to help those million people who have moved south as well as those who live there already,” Griffiths said.

Griffiths said he will go to the region Tuesday to help with the crisis.

At least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza, an Israeli official said Monday, in a sharp revision up from the previous count of 155.

The families of the 199 hostages have been informed, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Monday.

The communications director of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has called for border crossings with Gaza to be opened to allow humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.

“Before the seventh of October, UNRWA used to bring in supplies from the Israeli crossings so right now what we’re calling for is to lift the siege. We are ready. We would like and we would urge all those who have influence on parties to the conflict to open up Gaza so that UNRWA is able to bring in much needed supplies,” Juliette Touma told CNN Monday.

She said 1 million people in Gaza had been forced to flee their homes with at least half of them sheltering in UN facilities and that the need for food and fuel was dire.

“We need fuel. We need wheat flour, we need other basic supplies. UNRWA has not been able to deliver anything in the past week plus, so we need to get in those supplies as soon as possible. Fuel especially so that the water can come back to people in the Gaza strip,” she said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told CNN on Sunday that Israel has restored water to southern Gaza.

On Monday, the director of Gaza’s water authority Munther Shublaq disputed that claim, telling CNN that water has not been supplied to the enclave.

Five empty UN petrol trucks are waiting at the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, hoping to cross over into Egypt and refuel, a Palestinian official responsible for the Rafah crossing told CNN on Monday.

“There are five empty petrol trucks from Gaza, with UN flags, trying to get into Egypt to fill up on fuel, but the gates are closed,” the official said.
“We have not been given any orders from the Egyptians to open the gates. These trucks are on standby. There are groups of people waiting alongside these trucks. Nothing is open,” the official said.

The official stressed that “nothing has come through Egypt” yet either, as multiple aid trucks congregate on the Egyptian side of the border hoping to cross over to deliver supplies to Gaza.

The Israeli prime minister’s office denied Monday the existence of any arrangements for the opening of the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

The Rafah crossing is the last remaining exit for Palestinians in Gaza, but Cairo has as yet been reluctant to open it.

Ten people were killed after an Israeli airstrike on Al Kizan neighborhood of Khan Younis on Monday, doctors in Nasser Hospital told CNN.

They were all members of a single family, the doctors said, adding 23 people had been injured.

Khan Younis is in southern Gaza, which has become increasingly crowded with displaced civilians after Israel told people to evacuate northern Gaza.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military about the reported strike.

Water supply has not been restored to Gaza, the director of the enclave’s water authority told CNN on Monday. 

“I strongly deny the news of supplying Gaza Strip with water, these are false allegations and lies,” Munther Shublaq said. 

His remark comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told CNN that Israel had turned on water to southern Gaza. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday also shared the possible development with CNN.

It was unclear if Israel cutting electricity in Gaza had affected the water supply but the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Saturday that most people in Gaza had no access to water. 

 “As a last resort, people are consuming brackish water from agricultural wells, triggering serious concerns about the spread of waterborne diseases,” it said in a statement. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Tel Aviv, where he is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war management cabinet. His first meeting with Netanyahu is scheduled for around 6 a.m. ET.

The US top diplomat was in Israel last week, days after Hamas launched its deadly attacks in Israel, in a show of support from the Biden administration as it seeks to reinforce the country’s defenses and prevent the conflict from escalating further.

Blinken’s return Monday comes as the US seeks to help American citizens trapped in Gaza make their way across the only remaining exit from the besieged strip, the Rafah crossing to Egypt. The US is also working with regional partners to help secure the release of hostages, including American citizens, taken by Hamas during their brutal attack on October 7.

Earlier Monday, the Israeli prime minister’s office denied there were any arrangements to open the Rafah border crossing.

On Sunday Blinken promised the crossing “will be open” and that the US was working with the UN, Egypt, Israel and others to coordinate aid efforts.

China’s special envoy on the Middle East issue, Zhai Jun, will visit the region next week, Chinese state media reported Sunday.

In an interview with CGTN, he said he would promote peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to provide further details Monday.

A UN humanitarian team is waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing in the hopes that it will be given the green light to deliver aid supplies to Gaza.

In a situation update Monday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said it has sent “an advance team to Egypt to prepare for the possible opening of a humanitarian corridor to bring humanitarian aid supplies into the Strip.”

“For the fifth consecutive day, Gaza has had no electricity, pushing vital services, including health, water and sanitation to the brink of collapse, and worsening food insecurity,” the UNRWA statement added.

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the only remaining outlet for supplies, but it has been closed for much of the past week.

There is an “urgent need” for a pause in hostilities to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, according to the UN Human Rights Office.

“There have been very mammoth diplomatic efforts to try to make this happen. The secretary-general is constantly liaising with all the parties that are involved, and many other member states are also exercising what leverage they can. We need the security for the aid deliveries to be able to happen,” UNHRO spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told CNN on Monday.

Gaza is facing a critical humanitarian crisis, with shortages of water, electricity, food, fuel and medicine.

“We have seen hospitals that have been forced to evacuate. Doctors insisting that they will stay with patients who are in the ICU wards and the neonatal units, where you had the impossible choice of whether to abandon your patients or to stay with them and risk death.

The access to water, access to food, the forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people into southern Gaza has created a very, very difficult humanitarian situation in southern Gaza as well,” Shamdasani said.

She said there is a significant amount of aid waiting at the border to get in.

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the only remaining outlet for supplies, but it has been closed for much of the past week, with neither Gazans nor foreign nationals able to cross.

The Israeli prime minister’s office has denied there are any arrangements for the opening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. 

Hamas also issued a statement noting it had not received confirmation from Egypt about the possible opening of the Rafah border crossing.

A security alert from the US Embassy in Jerusalem earlier on Monday cited media reports saying the Rafah crossing will open at 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) on October 16.

“We anticipate that the situation at the Rafah crossing will remain fluid and unpredictable and it is unclear whether, or for how long, travelers will be permitted to transit the crossing,” the embassy statement said.

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the only remaining outlet for supplies, but it has been closed for much of the past week, with neither Gazans nor foreign nationals able to cross. Tons of vital humanitarian supplies for people in Gaza have been piling up on the Egyptian side of the border.

Hamas has not yet received confirmation from Egypt about the possible opening of the Rafah border crossing, the Palestinian militant group said in a statement Monday. 

“Until this moment, we have not received any contacts or confirmations from the Egyptian authorities regarding the intention to open the Rafah crossing today. All the information being circulated in this regard is attributed to Israeli media outlets,” said Salama Marouf, head of the government media office.

A security alert from the US Embassy in Jerusalem cited media reports saying the Rafah crossing will open at 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) on October 16.

“We anticipate that the situation at the Rafah crossing will remain fluid and unpredictable and it is unclear whether, or for how long, travelers will be permitted to transit the crossing,” the embassy statement said.

It’s unclear whether the border opened at the anticipated time. CNN has reached out to Palestinian officials at the border crossing. 

The Secretary General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said WHO’s planeload of medical supplies arrived near Rafah on Saturday “and we are working with partners to transport them into Gaza today if at all possible. Many civilians are in serious need.”

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the only remaining outlet for supplies, but the crossing has been closed for much of the past week, with neither Gazans nor foreign nationals able to cross. Tons of vital humanitarian supplies for people in Gaza have been piling up on the Egyptian side of the border.

As tens of thousands of Pakistanis demonstrated against Israel’s military strikes in Gaza over the weekend, the country’s interim Prime Minister, Anwar ul Haq Kakar, on Monday called for “an immediate ceasefire and lifting of the blockade in Gaza.”

Kakar expressed his deep concern over the “ongoing violence and loss of life in Gaza” in a statement posted to “X,” formerly Twitter, on Monday.

He also accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, calling it a “manifest violation of international law.”

“The breakout of violence needs to be seen in the context of years of forced and illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and repressive policies against its people,” Kakar added.

During a news briefing on Sunday, caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani called the situation in Gaza “a genocide conducted by Israel against the poor people of Palestine.” Jilani will attend an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Executive Committee on October 18 to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Sunday.

Both ministers’ statements came after a weekend of pro-Palestinian rallies across Pakistan, including in the north-western city of Peshawar on Saturday, where former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal addressed thousands of supporters of the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan via video link.

Five rescuers from civil defense teams were killed after a “direct” Israeli airstrike, the Palestinian Ministry of Interior Affairs said Monday. 

Several others are injured, two of whom are in critical condition, according to a Palestinian Ministry of Interior Affairs statement published Monday morning. 

The airstrike hit the Civil Defense headquarters in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City, the ministry added. 

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

The United States is “actively working” to ensure that humanitarian assistance can get into Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday.

In a short message on “X”, formerly Twitter, Blinken wrote: “We stand with Israel as it defends itself. The United States is also actively working to ensure the people of Gaza can get out of harm’s way and the assistance they need — food, water, medicine — can get in. Hamas does not care if Palestinians suffer.”

Gaza is facing a critical humanitarian crisis, with shortages of water, electricity, food, fuel and medicine. The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only remaining outlet for supplies, has been closed for much of the past week.  Tons of vital humanitarian supplies for people in Gaza have been piling up on the Egyptian side of the border.

Some background: Half a million residents have left northern Gaza for the south, according to Israel, as it gears up for the next stages of its war. More than 2,600 people have died in Israeli airstrikes over the past week, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The enclave is a narrow strip of land, only about 25 miles long and seven miles wide — just over twice the size of Washington DC. To its west lies the Mediterranean Sea, to its north and east is Israel, and Egypt is to its south. It is one of two Palestinian territories, the other being the larger, Israeli-occupied West Bank, which borders Jordan.

Around 2 million people are crammed into the 140-square-mile territory. The overwhelming majority of people are young, with 50% of the population under the age of 18, according to the World Health Organization.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said Sunday that Gaza is rapidly running out of water and electricity, and the population faces severe shortages of food and medicine.

“Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity. If we look at the issue of water — we all know water is life — Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life,” Lazzarini said.

The men in the wedding hall at the Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank spend most of their days and nights glued to their phones, smoking and constantly refreshing their news feeds. They look exhausted, the horrors of the last few days clearly visible on their faces.

These 180 men – they are all men – are refugees from Gaza. They are among the roughly 18,000 residents of the enclave who have Israeli work permits and are allowed to cross the border back and forth. When the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shut all access to Gaza following Hamas’ deadly attack last Saturday, these men became stuck.

Their wives and children are still in Khan Younis, a town in southern Gaza that is now the epicenter of its own rapidly unfolding refugee crisis, with no way of getting out.

The IDF has been relentlessly pounding Gaza with airstrikes and artillery after Hamas fighters staged a terror attack and launched thousands of rockets that so far have killed at least 1,400 people. The terror group also kidnapped some 150 others on October 7 during the unprecedented rampage.

Israel’s military says its goal is to destroy Hamas and ensure it can never again carry out such an attack. But the civilian toll of the campaign has been immense. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said 2,450 have been killed in the past eight days, which is more than during the entire 2014 war, which lasted 51 days. 

Ismail Abd Almagid’s wife and five children – four girls and one boy – are in Gaza while he is staying in the refugee camp. He has videos of all of them on his phone. One shows his young daughter Misk eating a piece of mango. When he plays the clip, tears start streaming down his face.

Tala, his second-oldest daughter, was injured in the 2014 war when the family was staying at his parents’ house. “She loves roller skates, so I told her I’ll bring them when I come back,” he said.

Abd Almagid, 44, told CNN he tries to keep in touch with his wife at all times, but communication has been difficult since Israel cut off Gaza’s access to electricity, food and water.

“My children are telling me to pray for them. The situation is very difficult over there,” he said. “I’d go back (to Gaza) right now … even with everything that’s going on, take me to Gaza, I will go with you right now … my life is not worth it without my family.”

Right now a huge population shift is underway in Gaza, with hundreds of thousands heading south, many heading to the overcrowded streets of Khan Younis.

Read more about the Gazans stuck outside the enclave

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, addressed the dire situation in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, highlighting the critical humanitarian crisis. Lazzarini emphasized Gaza is rapidly running out of water and electricity, and the population faces severe shortages of food and medicine.

“Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity. If we look at the issue of water — we all know water is life — Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life,” Lazzarini said.

Asked by a journalist during a news conference about the restoration of water in the southern Gaza, Lazzarini said:

“We haven’t been able yet to confirm. My understanding is that if there is restoration of the water, it would primarily impact Khan Younis or half of Khan Younis. So, it would not cover to south of Khan Younis or the people in Rafah. But again, this is a report that we need to confirm. And for the time being our colleagues on the ground are not able to confirm this information.”

He described an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe with thousands seeking shelter in UNRWA facilities, while resources are stretched to the limit. “The number of people seeking shelter in our schools and other UNRWA facilities in the south is absolutely overwhelming, and we do not have, anymore, the capacity to deal with them,” he added.

Lazzarini noted the blockade, which he said started 16 years before the recent conflict, had already placed a significant burden on the population, with more than 60% relying on international food assistance.

According to UNRWA, 14 of its staff members have been killed, and many others are displaced or affected by the ongoing crisis, Lazzarini said.

He called for an immediate end to the hostilities to prevent further loss of life, the lifting of the siege, and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to provide essential supplies such as fuel, water, food, and medicine.

The commissioner general stressed the importance of upholding international humanitarian law, emphasizing all wars must abide by its principles.

Israel is gearing up for the next stage of its war on Hamas, following the Palestinian militant group’s brutal October 7 attacks that killed 1,400 people.

Following a week of unprecedented airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which have killed more than 2,600 people, Israel is massing troops and military equipment on its border with the Hamas-controlled enclave. It has warned some 1.1 million people in the northern half of the strip to evacuate, according to the United Nations.

As Israel prepares for a ground offensive into Gaza, here’s what you need to know about the 140 square-mile territory — one of the most densely-populated areas on Earth.

Read more about Gaza.

Conditions in Gaza have deteriorated dangerously, experts say, with serious shortages of clean water and food as tens of thousands of Palestinians attempt to flee crippling airstrikes and an Israeli ground offensive.

About half a million people have left northern Gaza for the south following Israel’s evacuation notice on Friday, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said Sunday.

The estimate represents roughly half the population of northern Gaza, where the IDF is gearing up for the next stages of its war with Hamas, which controls the territory.

Israel launched its offensive in response to devastating Hamas terror attacks that killed 1,400 people on October 14.

In his first clear denouncement of Hamas’ attacks, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the militant group’s actions “do not represent the Palestinian people.”

Here’s what else you need to know:

Desperate residents hoping to exit Gaza via the Rafah crossing may receive “very little notice” if it opens, the US Embassy in Israel warned on Monday.

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the only remaining outlet to get people out of the enclave and supplies into it, but it has been closed for much of the past week.

“It is unclear whether, or for how long, travelers will be permitted to transit the crossing. If you assess it to be safe, you may wish to move closer to the Rafah border crossing,” the embassy said, adding there may be “very little notice if the crossing opens and it may only open for a limited time.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that “Rafah will be open” after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

About half a million people have left northern Gaza for the south following Israel’s evacuation notice on Friday, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said Sunday.

The estimate represents roughly half the population of northern Gaza, where the IDF is gearing up for the next stages of its war with Hamas, which runs the territory.

“The estimates — and I emphasize these are estimates and it is difficult to track — but we are looking at approximately half a million [people],” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

The evacuation advisory came after Israel imposed a complete siege on Gaza. The IDF said Saturday it would allow safe movement on specified streets for residents to move from the northern city of Beit Hanoun to Khan Yunis in the south — a roughly 20-mile distance of rubble-strewn streets.

Southern Gaza is struggling to accommodate the influx of people. Shelters are overloaded and the area is experiencing shortages of food, water and fuel.

Conricus said Israel has “opened taps” on its side to allow water to enter southern Gaza, but said he “doesn’t have visibility on exactly how much is actually flowing where it should.”

Israel “has no interest” in occupying Gaza but will do “whatever is needed” to eliminate Hamas, the country’s ambassador to the United Nations said Sunday.

His remarks come after US President Joe Biden warned Israel against occupying the coastal enclave as it signals it is preparing for a ground invasion amid a spiraling humanitarian crisis.

“We have no interest to occupy Gaza or to stay in Gaza, but since we are fighting for our survival and the only way, as the president [Biden] himself defined is to obliterate Hamas, so we will have to do whatever is needed to obliterate their capabilities,” Israel’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Biden said it would be a “big mistake” for Israel to occupy Gaza.His comments amount to one of the few times the US president has called on Israel to use restraint in responding to the Hamas attacks that left 1,400 dead.

Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the US, told CNN on Sunday that Israel does not intend to occupy Gaza after the conflict ends.

“We have no desire to occupy or reoccupy Gaza. We have no desire to rule over the lives of more than 2 million Palestinians,” Herzog said.

Biden meanwhile, has called for the protection of civilians as the US has been working to alleviate shortages of food, water and gas.

Erdan said water has been turned back on in southern Gaza, but he didn’t say if electricity was on for desalination.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday warned of the risk of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East as Israel pounds Gaza with airstrikes in response to Hamas’ unprecedented surprise attacks.

“There is a risk of an escalation of this conflict, the opening of a second front in the north, and of course of Iran’s involvement — that is a risk. And that’s a risk that we have been mindful of since the start,” Sullivan said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“It’s why the President moves so rapidly and decisively to get an aircraft carrier into the eastern Mediterranean, to get aircraft into the Gulf, because he wants to send a very clear message of deterrence to any state or any actor that would seek to exploit this situation.”

The Pentagon has ordered a second carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and is sending Air Force fighter jets to the region as Israel prepares to expand its Gaza operations, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement Saturday.

The US warships are not intended to join the fighting in Gaza or take part in Israel’s operations, but the presence of two of the Navy’s most powerful vessels is designed to send a message of deterrence to Iran and Iranian proxies in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Some more context: If Hezbollah joins the conflict, it could provide the next flashpoint that would entangle bigger regional powers such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Israel has long accused Iran of engaging in a form of proxy war by backing groups — including Hamas — that have launched attacks on its shores. Iran has denied any involvement in the October 7 attacks.

US President Joe Biden on Sunday said there’s “no clear evidence” of Iran being behind the attacks. 

President Joe Biden warned Israel against occupying Gaza in one of his most notable public calls for restraint as the Israelis respond to this month’s terror attacks by Hamas.

In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Biden said it would be a “big mistake” for Israel to occupy Gaza. Israel has been signaling it is preparing for a ground invasion of Gaza, even as a humanitarian crisis grows inside the coastal Palestinian enclave. Biden has called for the protection of civilians, and the United States has been working to alleviate shortages of food, water and gas.

Biden said he believes Hamas should be eliminated entirely, “but there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state.”

The comments amount to one of the few times the US president has called on Israel to use some sort of restraint in responding to the Hamas attacks that left 1,400 Israelis dead. In its response, Israel unleashed a massive bombing campaign against the northern Gaza Strip, from which Hamas launched its attack.

Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that Israel does not intend to occupy Gaza after the conflict ends.

“We have no desire to occupy or reoccupy Gaza. We have no desire to rule over the lives of more than 2 million Palestinians,” Herzog said.

In the “60 Minutes” interview, Biden notably did not say it was time for a ceasefire.

“Look, there’s a fundamental difference. Israel is going after a group of people who have engaged in barbarism that is as consequential as the Holocaust,” he said.
“So I think Israel has to respond. They have to go after Hamas. Hamas is a bunch of cowards. They’re hiding behind the civilians. … The Israelis are gonna do everything in their power to avoid the killing of innocent civilians.”

Read more from Biden here.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in his first clear and stark denouncement of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, said the militant group’s actions “do not represent the Palestinian people.”

“The policies and actions of Hamas do not represent the Palestinian people, and it is the policies, programs, and decisions of the Palestine Liberation Organization that represent the Palestinian people as their legitimate and sole representative,” Abbas said during a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Sunday, the official Palestinian press agency WAFA reported.

Abbas called for an end to civilian casualties, the release of prisoners and a rejection of violence, according to WAFA.

During the call, Abbas also emphasized the urgent need for Israel to stop its aggression in Gaza and to immediately protect Gazan civilians by opening a humanitarian corridor for provisions of medical supplies, water, electricity, and fuel, WAFA reported. 

Abbas said displacing Palestinians from Gaza would represent “a second catastrophe for the Palestinian people,” WAFA added.

Key context: Israel is at war with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza and carried out devastating terror attacks in Israel earlier this month.

Abbas is the leader of the Palestinian Authority, a government body with limited self-rule in the West Bank. It was established in the 1993 Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that saw the PLO give up armed resistance against Israel in return for promises of an independent Palestinian state.

Hamas — which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, European Union and other countries — presents itself as an alternative to the Palestinian Authority, which has recognized Israel and has engaged in multiple failed peace initiatives with it.

CNN’s Abbas Al Lawati and Nadeen Ebrahim contributed reporting to this post.

The Israeli military said it killed a Hamas commander as part of strikes on some 250 targets Sunday, mostly in the northern Gaza Strip.

The commander was identified in an Israel Defense Forces statement as Muetaz Eid, commander of the Hamas Southern District of National Security, who was located through intelligence from the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency, the statement said.

Hamas has not yet made a statement.

The IDF said it also hit “dozens of military headquarters, a series of military observation posts, and a number of rocket launching posts used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations.”

Some background: Israel launched its offensive in response to the devastating October 7 Hamas terror attacks that killed 1,400 people.

Hamas controls Gaza, which is home to 2.2 million Palestinians. More than 2,600 people have died there as Israel pounds the territory with strikes, the Palestinian health ministry said. The ministry has slammed Israel for killing civilians and emergency workers in its assault.

Israel has told the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to leave home for their safety as it gears up for the next stages of its war with Hamas.

The humanitarian crisis is deepening in Gaza. The Hamas-run enclave — home to 2.2 million Palestinians — has been pounded by airstrikes in retaliation for the militant group’s devastating October 7 terror attacks on Israel.

At least 2,670 people have already died in Gaza, and aid groups warn they are running out of critical supplies as Israel maintains a “complete siege” on the crowded territory. Tens of thousands of northern Gaza residents are trying to evacuate after the Israeli military warned the “next stages of the war” will bring even more airstrikes and “significant ground operations.”

Diplomatic efforts took center stage over the weekend. Here’s some of the latest from world leaders:

An estimated 1.1 million people live in Gaza City and surrounding parts of the northern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military has warned civilians to leave before a new phase in its war with Hamas.

The map below shows the densely populated areas included in Israel’s advisory.

It also shows the Rafah crossing to Egypt (bottom-left) — the only option for people trying to leave Gaza entirely, as Israel has tightened its long-established blockade on the territory and completely closed its border crossings.

Israel is working with the United Nations to create a humanitarian zone in Gaza, Michael Herzog, Israeli ambassador to the United States, told CNN on Sunday.

“We are in the process of establishing a humanitarian zone, a big humanitarian zone in the southern part of Gaza, with the UN. We are working very closely with UN agencies so that they will go there — it will be a humanitarian zone and they will get all the essential provisions like water, medicine, food, and things like that,” Herzog said.

The zone would be able to host hundreds of thousands of people, Herzog said.

“We are operating under international law and any essentials that the Palestinian population needs, we’re facilitating. That’s why we’re establishing this safe zone,” Herzog said.

CNN has reached out to the UN for comment.

Herzog added Israel does not intend to occupy Gaza after the conflict.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Sunday that the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt “will be open” after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

“Rafah will be open,” he said. “We’re putting in place with the UN, with Egypt, Israel, with others, the mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it.”

Israel has closed its two border crossings with Gaza and imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, blocking supplies of fuel, electricity and water. That has left the Rafah crossing as the only viable outlet to get people out of the enclave — and supplies into it.

Officials from several countries have been involved in the talks around when, and to what extent, the crossing can be opened. Catch up on the issue here.

Aid efforts: Blinken also announced President Joe Biden’s appointment of David Satterfield, former US ambassador to Turkey, to help coordinate aid efforts. Blinken said Satterfield will be in Israel on Monday to begin coordinating.

Blinken, who has met with various regional leaders including those of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, said he had “very good conversations” with both el-Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He added every nation he spoke with shared the administration’s goal of preventing an escalation and securing aid to civilians stuck in Gaza.

US support for Israel: Blinken said while the US supports Israel’s right to defend itself, he hopes Israel responds “in a way that affirms the shared values that we have for human life and human dignity.”

“The way that Israel does this matters. It needs to do it in a way that affirms the shared values that we have for human life and human dignity, taking every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians,” he said. “Civilians should not have to suffer for Hamas’ atrocities.”

Asked if the US would come to Israel’s defense in the event of an escalation, Blinken said, “I don’t think we could be more clear than we’ve been, that when it comes to Israel’s security, we have Israel’s back.”

He added, “We will stand with it today, tomorrow, and every day.”

Military presence in the Middle East: Blinken assured US strike groups mobilized in the region are not intended “to provoke anyone, but to send a very clear message of deterrence, that no one should do anything that widens this conflict in any way, or that furthers aggression against Israel from any other direction.”

“No one should do anything that could add fuel to the fire in any other place. I think that’s very clear,” he added.