January 28, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

France has “no plans to make a further payment in the first half of 2024” to the United Nations relief agency in Gaza, its foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday. 

The ministry pointed to the accusations by Israel that some UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staff members were involved in the Hamas attacks on October 7 of last year, calling the allegations "exceptionally serious." 

France had contributed nearly 60 million euros (around $65 million) to UNRWA in 2023.

The foreign ministry said in its statement that it will decide "when the time comes" what it will do to ensure requirements for aid transparency and security are taken into account.

A growing list: France joins these other donor nations in pausing financial support for UNWRA in light of the allegations:

Ireland and Norway say they will continue to fund the UN agency.

Hundreds of Israeli protesters on Sunday blocked aid trucks from driving into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, demanding that hostages held in Gaza are freed before any more aid is delivered into the Strip, CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson reports from the scene.

The protests have been ongoing for days and were organized by families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. On Sunday, the protesters again blocked the convoys, despite an expectation that Israeli police would clear the protests to allow the crossing to operate, Robertson reports. The aid trucks, however, remain parked a few hundred meters from the protesters.

On Wednesday, only nine trucks crossed into Gaza via Kerem Shalom due to the protests, while the crossing remained closed Thursday and Friday due to protesters blocking access, according to Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The border was closed Saturday for Shabbat.

Last Sunday, 139 aid trucks were inspected and transferred via Kerem Shalom, according to COGAT.

United Nations officials have warned of the repercussions of declining humanitarian access in parts of Gaza and the blocking of aid at the crossing, saying famine is looming in the enclave and hospitals are in dire shape.

Nowara Diab was trying to drown out the sounds of airstrikes by listening to music, but it was not enough to shake the unsettled feeling in her gut.

Then her phone rang. It was a friend, who said they had heard that Maimana Jarada — Diab’s best friend — and her family had been killed by Israeli bombardment.

Her stomach was in knots as she felt herself panicking. Diab called Jarada’s number repeatedly but when there was no answer, it dawned on her that it was true: Jarada had been killed.

The 20-year-old says she broke down in tears as she felt the walls close in around her. The pain was even more intense for Diab because she had learned only 10 days earlier that another friend, Abraham Saidam, had also been killed by Israeli airstrikes.

Despite repeated telecommunications blackouts amid Israel’s siege, Diab has managed to speak to CNN from Gaza through voice notes, text messages and videos about the life and friendships she has lost since October 7.

Heavy fighting in the vicinity of the Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals in Khan Younis in Gaza has continued into a seventh day Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Palestinian Ministry of Health both said.

The IDF again said it was carrying out "precise operations" against Hamas in the southern city, saying its intelligence indicates members of Hamas are operating inside and around the Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said hospital facilities have over the past week been "under siege" after the Israeli military intensified its operations in Khan Younis.

Oxygen supplies at Al Amal hospital have been depleted and that medical teams are unable to perform surgeries as a result, PRCS warned Sunday. It said it is coordinating with the International Committee of the Red Cross "to explore the possibility of providing a safe passage" so oxygen cylinders can be brought to the hospital.

The IDF said they continue to liaise with hospital directors and medical staff to “ensure that the hospitals can remain operational and accessible.” They said that they have not ordered either hospital to evacuate, but that civilians who wish to do so are able to through a specified corridor.

The Nasser Medical Complex is the largest functioning health facility in Gaza.

Sara Khreis and her family spent weeks agonizing over whether to flee as Israeli troops moved into Gaza City’s al-Rimal neighborhood. After two nights of bombardment so intense they thought their home might fall apart, they realized they had to go.

More than 20 people, relatives and neighbors, had holed up at their house as the war worsened. Sara’s 57-year-old mother, Hala, cooked a quick breakfast and made time to pray. Then they heard their neighbors screaming that an evacuation route had been organized: “Come on, get out!”

They threw on their shoes and rushed out of the door, joining a wave of others waving white flags – a universal symbol of surrender.

A few paces ahead of the others, Hala was walking with her grandson, Tayem, then 4, holding hands as they navigated a street littered with debris, a white flag in his other hand. Seconds later, a shot rang out and Hala slumped to the ground.

The clip of Hala’s killing is one of a growing number that show unarmed civilians holding white flags being shot dead in Gaza. CNN has examined four cases, including that of Hala Khreis. CNN made multiple attempts to sit down with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to share its findings. They told CNN on Friday that “the incident is being examined.”

Read more here.

Of the 12 staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) allegedly involved in the deadly October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, nine have been fired, one killed and the identities of two others are "being clarified," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.

"The United Nations is taking swift action following the extremely serious allegations against several UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff members," Guterres said Sunday, adding the UN's oversight body has already launched an investigation and an independent review is forthcoming.

He urged countries, however, to continue financial assistance to the UNRWA that supports 2 million Gazans who depend on the "critical aid" for "daily survival," warning the agency's current funding "will not allow it to meet all requirements to support them in February."

In the wake of the allegations against the UNRWA, nine countries have so far paused funding for the main UN agency in Gaza.

"The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences. But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met," he said.

Many Arab Americans and Muslim voters who have spoken to CNN say they will not vote for US President Joe Biden’s reelection efforts due to his unwavering support of Israel and failure to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. 

In the last presidential election cycle, Biden received the backing of several prominent Muslim American elected officials and community leaders. But this time around, many are skeptical – and angry.

The Abandon Biden campaign was created in Minnesota after a group of Muslim Americans demanded the president call for a ceasefire by October 31. And when Biden didn’t respond to these calls to support a permanent halt in fighting, the group vowed to campaign against him.

At least 146,620 of the 200,000 Muslim American voters in Michigan cast a ballot in the 2020 election cycle, according to an analysis by Emgage. In 2020, Biden won Michigan by three percentage points over Trump. Four years prior, Trump won the state over Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by 0.2 percentage points.

Read more about the views of Muslim and Arab Americans toward the Biden campaign as the war in Gaza continues.

CNN filmed rare footage Saturday of Palestinian men detained by Israeli forces in Gaza and brought across the border to Israel — witnessing the men blindfolded and barefoot, with their hands bound behind their backs.

The Israel Defense Forces said the men are “suspected of terrorist activity and were arrested in Gaza and transferred to Israel for further interrogation.”

Meanwhile, a growing number of countries have temporarily suspended aid to the main United Nations relief agency in Gaza over allegations some staff members were involved in last October's Hamas attacks, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society says hospitals in the southern part of the strip are "under siege."

These are the biggest headlines from the war today:

More on the Palestinian detainees: Some of the men in the video appear physically exhausted, with their heads falling and swaying as they attempt to remain kneeling. They appear to be wearing only disposable white coveralls, despite the 10-degree Celsius temperature (50 degrees Fahrenheit). The IDF said the men filmed Saturday were about to be transferred to a "heated bus" when CNN filmed the scene, and maintained that detainees are treated in accordance with international law. A bus was waiting nearby, but CNN could not confirm when the men were put onto the bus. The Israeli military has detained hundreds – if not thousands – of Palestinian boys and men, and sometimes women, as its ground forces sweep through the enclave.

More countries pause UNRWA funding: Multiple nations have announced they are temporarily pausing their funding to the embattled UN agency in Gaza, in the wake of the allegations against its staff members. The Israel Defense Forces claimed UNRWA facilities were used for "terrorist purposes" in a statement on Saturday. The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East urged the countries to reconsider suspending their funding, noting the accused employees have been fired, the highest investigative authority of the UN has already taken action and an independent review by external experts is forthcoming.

Situation deteriorating at Khan Younis hospitals: Nasser Hospital, the main medical center in the southern Gaza city, is running out of its supply of blood, anesthesia and other medications, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health said Saturday. The city has been a flashpoint area in recent fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hospital facilities have been "under siege" as the Israeli military intensifies operations there over the past week, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

Where hostage talks stand: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu challenged Qatar on Saturday, saying, "They position themselves as intermediaries. Well, let them prove it and help to bring the hostages back." The prime minister was also asked about an alleged leaked audio recording that aired on Israeli television Tuesday, in which he appeared to criticize Qatar for not putting enough pressure on Hamas. "I’m not taking back even one word that I said," he said on Saturday. "I will not give up a route of pressuring Hamas or whoever can affect Hamas to bring our hostages back." Meanwhile, CIA Director Bill Burns is set to meet in the coming days with Israel and Egypt’s intelligence chiefs and the Qatari prime minister to discuss a hostage deal.

Houthi attack: A Marshall Islands-flagged commercial tanker was carrying a highly flammable liquid hydrogen mixture when it was struck by a Houthi missile in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, US Central Command said, sparking a fire that took a day to extinguish. Despite a series of US strikes against Houthi missiles, drones and radar sites, the Iran-backed rebel group has continued to attack international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis claim the attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinian people as a result of the war in Gaza — an argument the US has repeatedly rejected.

The Marlin Luanda oil tanker is sailing toward a safe harbor after extinguishing a fire caused by a missile attack from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the vessel’s operator, Trafigura, said Saturday.

All crew members on board are safe, the company said.

On Friday, the vessel was the latest commercial vessel struck by a Houthi missile as it crossed through the Gulf of Aden after passing through the Red Sea.

Trafigura highlighted the “exceptional dedication and bravery” of the crew and thanked Navy vessels from India, France and the United States for their assistance.

Remember: This all ties back to Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza: The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, say their actions are aimed at pressuring Israel to stop its ground offensive and widespread bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. The US has repeatedly rejected that argument.

The Houthis say they are also retaliating for recent strikes on their infrastructure by the US and UK militaries, which have been aimed at stopping the group's attacks in the key global shipping lane.

More about the ship: The commercial tanker had been carrying a highly flammable liquid hydrogen mixture when it was hit by the missile, according to US Central Command. The strike sparked a fire that took a day to extinguish.

The ship's crew consists of one Bangladeshi member and twenty-two Indian crew members, according to the US military officials.

CNN’s Oren Liebermann contributed reporting to this post.