January 27, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says its medical workers are living in a "state of terror and panic," and has once again accused Israel of besieging its headquarters and a southern Gaza hospital.

The PRCS condemned the “siege and targeting” of Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis “for the sixth consecutive day” in a statement released Saturday, calling on the international community to shield its aid workers.

The aid group called the situation part of a "series of systematic attacks" on the organization and medical facilities in the Gaza Strip. The PRCS has previously said its headquarters and the hospital are "under siege" by Israel. 

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for a response to the latest claims. It has previously claimed Hamas was operating in the area from inside the Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals.

PRCS disputed those claims Saturday as "false," and said the IDF has not made efforts to communicate with hospital administration.

CNN cannot independently verify either side's claims about the situation at the hospital due to the difficulties of reporting from the war zone.

Israeli Master Sgt. Omri Erental was kneeling at the mouth of a tunnel shaft in Gaza, standing guard while waiting for a specialized unit to arrive, when he suddenly spotted movement down below.

Other soldiers in his Israel Defense Forces combat engineering unit had already thrown two grenades into the tunnel shaft, so Erental turned his flashlight on.

The impact was a 7.62-millimeter bullet that pierced his cheek and took out a fragment of his jaw, before lodging in his neck — very close to critical nerves and arteries, according to Erental and his doctor. As Erental crawled back to safety, his fellow soldiers killed the militant who shot him from inside the tunnel, he said. 

Exposing tunnels is central to the Israeli military’s campaign against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave, but the work presents big challenges and dangers. Israel uses enormous bunker-busting bombs to penetrate deep underground, targeting what it says are Hamas command centers and fighters — but these often leave gaping craters where civilian buildings once stood and can kill large numbers of civilians.

Members of Israel’s combat engineering forces also send drones, dogs and sometimes troops deep into booby-trapped tunnels in order to clear them of Hamas fighters, uncover potentially useful intelligence, and then ultimately detonate them.

Israeli officials believe that many Hamas fighters — including Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar — are surviving in sophisticated tunnels equipped with electricity, bathrooms and stocks of food and water.

Watch Jeremy Diamond's report:

The Palestine Liberation Organization called on countries halting support for the main United Nations agency in Gaza to “immediately retract their decision.”

The US, Canada, Australia and Italy each announced they have paused funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) following allegations that some of its staff members were involved in the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel.

“In light of the continuing conflict and aggression against the Palestinian people,” Al-Sheikh wrote, the decision to drop funding “entails great political and relief risks.”

“This organization must be supported and not stopped from being supported and assisted by the international community,” he said. 

The PLO is recognized internationally as a representative body of the Palestinian people. 

The war between Israel and Hamas has already spilled over to the wider Middle East, with prospects of a confrontation between regional and world powers becoming ever more likely.

Across the region, the fighting has largely been confined to tit-for-tat attacks between Iran-backed militias on one side and the US, Israel and its allies on the other.

But the direct intervention of both Iran and the US in recent weeks has heightened fears that the proxy conflict between the two could turn into a direct one.

So far, the US and Iran have avoided directly confronting each other. The US has attacked Iranian-backed groups in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, while Iran-linked groups have targeted American personnel in Iraq and Syria. Tehran has also struck what it said were anti-Iran groups in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan. Pakistan responded with retaliatory strikes.

As tensions across the region rise, CNN takes a look at where Iran or its allies are present, where US forces are stationed and where both sides have conducted military operations since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Read the story here.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has suggested that Israel will seek to stop the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in post-war Gaza, saying it "will not be a part of the day after."

It follows allegations that its staff members were involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel.

On Friday, an Israeli official told CNN that Israel shared information about 12 staffers allegedly involved in the October 7 attacks both with UNRWA and the US. The official did not share more specifics on the alleged actions of the 12 former staffers.

CNN has reached out to UNRWA and the Israeli authorities about the information Israel provided UNRWA and the nature of the alleged involvement of the UNRWA employees on October 7.

Israel’s relations with the UN have deteriorated in recent months, after the organization’s senior officials repeatedly condemned the country’s military approach to the war in Gaza.

It was supposed to be a safe haven – a new life for those seeking refuge from the turbulence of war.

But when tens of thousands of Ukrainians fled to Israel in the wake of Russia’s invasion, they had no idea of what the future would hold.

With men aged 18 to 60 forbidden to leave Ukraine, the refugees were mostly women, children and the elderly. Among them, four courageous teenagers who arrived alone in Israel to start a new life as a result of Moscow’s assault on their homeland on February 24, 2022.

Little more than a year and a half later, these young people found themselves immersed in another conflict, as they study at a boarding school just 8 miles from Gaza.

Read their story here.

More countries have joined the US and Australia in pausing funding to the main UN relief agency operating in Gaza after some of its staff were accused of participating in the October 7 attacks.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) on Friday fired several staff members after Israeli accused them of involvement in Hamas’ murderous rampage into southern Israel.

The revelation prompted the US State Department to announce soon after that it had “temporarily paused additional funding” to the agency.

Now, Canada and Italy have followed suit.

Canada's Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen, made the announcement late on Friday on X.

Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, confirmed on X that Italy has also suspended funding to UNRWA, adding "we are committed to providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population, and protecting Israel's security."

This is a developing story. This post will be updated.

The UN chief Antonio Guterres said he hopes Israel will "duly comply" with the ruling from the International Court of Justice ordering it to take action to prevent acts of genocide being carried out in war-torn Gaza. 

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary General told reporters in New York that Guterres had taken note of the orders from the UN's top court, which made the ruling as part of a genocide case brought by South Africa.

In the statement, Guterres reiterated the legally binding nature of ICJ decisions, adding that he trusts "that all parties will duly comply with the Order from the Court." 

The UN chief has repeatedly called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, expressing deep concern about the "unprecedented" number of civilian casualties and the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation in the enclave. 

A landmark case: In a rebuke of Israel, the ICJ on Friday said Israel must “take all measures” to limit the death and destruction caused by its campaign in Gaza but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.

The ICJ’s decisions are binding and cannot be appealed, but it has no way of enforcing them. Israel previously indicated it would not abide by the ruling.

Australia is “temporarily” pausing “disbursement of recent funding” to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) following allegations that its staff were involved in the October 7 terror attacks on Israel. 

She added that while “Australia welcomes UNRWA’s swift response,” it will “temporarily pause disbursement of recently announced funding” as Canberra engages "closely with UNRWA on investigations" and consults international partners.

She added that “Australia will continue to support the people of Gaza and work to provide humanitarian assistance,” and reiterated Canberra’s call for “civilians to be protected, and for humanitarian access.” 

Some background: On Friday, UNRWA – the main UN agency operating in Gaza – said that Israel had accused some of its staff of being involved in the October 7 attacks, and that their contracts would be “immediately” terminated.

The US also announced it was pausing funding in the wake of the allegations.