February 11, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Two Israeli hostages were rescued overnight from the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a special operation between the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency Shin Bet, and the Israeli police.

The two hostages have been identified as Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, who were taken by Hamas during the militant group's October 7 attack on Israel, according to the joint statement on Monday.

Their rescue comes 128 days after they were taken captive.

The two men are in good medical condition and have been transferred to Sheba Medical Center in Israel, the IDF said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed it as an "impressive release operation" by the IDF.

This post has been updated with the defense minister's comments.

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a deal to secure the release of hostages in Gaza at length on Sunday, according to a senior administration official, who cautioned that while a framework is in place, gaps remain.

The call between Biden and Netanyahu lasted about 45 minutes and two thirds of the conversation was focused on the release of hostages, according to the senior administration official. US officials have been working on hammering out a framework that includes the release of hostages as well as a humanitarian pause. 

During the call, Biden also expressed concerns about a ground offensive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, where more than 1.3 million people are believed to be living. The majority have been displaced from other parts of Gaza and say they have nowhere to go.

According to a White House readout, Biden "reaffirmed” his stance to Netanyahu that the Israeli military should not proceed with the military operation in the city “without a credible and executable plan” to ensure the safety of civilians.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks that the October 7 Hamas attack was the “largest anti-Semitic massacre of the 21st century.” 

“The ‘largest anti-Semitic massacre of our century'? No, Mr. Macron. The victims of October 7 were not killed because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel's oppression. France and the international community did nothing to prevent it. My respects to the victims,” Albanese said in a social media post. 

Albanese was responding to comments made by Macron as he paid tribute to the October 7 victims at a ceremony in Paris on February 7. During the ceremony, Macron said “the unspeakable resurfaced from the depths of history” that day. 

Albanese said she condemned the attack and was “disappointed” that some had interpreted her comments as justifying Hamas’ actions. 

In response to Albanese, the French Foreign Ministry reiterated Macron’s comments that the October 7 massacre was the "largest anti-Semitic massacre of the 21st century."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he thinks enough hostages are alive in Gaza to “warrant the kind of efforts” Israel is making to secure their release.

“I’m committed to getting them out, make every effort. And it requires pressure, pressure has worked, and pressure will work again,” Netanyahu told ABC News in an interview aired Sunday. 

Netanyahu was asked about the Hostage and Missing Families Forum’s open letter that questioned Israel’s approach to ongoing negotiations with Hamas, and its commitment to securing the release of hostages.

What we know about the hostages: There are currently 136 hostages held in Gaza, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office. Of those, 132 are from the October 7 attack. It is believed 103 of those hostages are alive, with 29 reported dead. 

Hamas holds a majority of the hostages, but some are believed to be held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and possibly smaller groups or individuals in Gaza.

Call with Biden: During a call with US President Joe Biden on Sunday, Netanyahu discussed hostage negotiations at length, according to a senior US administration official. The official cautioned that, while a framework for a deal is in place, gaps remain.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez and MJ Lee contributed reporting to this post.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday morning and “reaffirmed” his stance the Israel Defense Forces should not proceed with the military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah “without a credible and executable plan” to ensure the safety of civilians.

Biden also stressed the need capitalize on the progress in the negotiations to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

Some context: Netanyahu has directed the country’s military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah, his office said in a statement on Friday, ahead of an anticipated ground assault on the southern Gaza city.

Many of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in tent camps in Rafah have already been displaced from elsewhere in the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.

The plan has sparked concern from many countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry warned of "very serious repercussions of storming and targeting" the city while the United Arab Emirates warned Israel's plan “threatens to cause the loss of more innocent life and exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.”

The key facilitator of negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Qatar has also condemned the plans, and the Egyptian foreign ministry said Sunday that it strongly rejects Israel's plan, warning of "dire consequences."

Hamas has warned that if the offensive into Rafah takes place, it would spell the end of hostage negotiations.

Responding to an inquiry from CNN on the killing of Palestine TV journalist Nafez Abdul Jawad, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it “takes all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm civilians including journalists. The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists.”

Eyewitness and journalist Mohammad Al-Sawalhi told CNN on Thursday that Abdul Jawad was killed after an Israeli missile struck the Deir El-Balah house he was staying in. At least 14 people were killed, including 5 children, when the residential buildings were targeted, eyewitness, and journalist Tareq Al Hilou, who received information from health officials in Rafah, told CNN.

The IDF said it is not aware of any strikes at these coordinates.

It said it will continue to counter threats and “remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks”, given the ongoing exchanges of fire.

Some context: As of January 8, at least 79 journalists have been killed in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Monday. The deaths include 72 Palestinians, four Israelis, and three Lebanese, according to CPJ's data.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed President Joe Biden’s comments on Israel’s response in Gaza as being “over the top." 

“I appreciate Biden’s support for Israel since the beginning of the war, I don’t know exactly what he meant by that,” Netanyahu said in an interview with ABC News aired Sunday.

Netanyahu went on to say Israel has “responded in a way that goes after the terrorist and tries to minimize the civilian population.”

ABC's Jonathan Karl then reminded Netanyahu of the death toll reported by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza that now tops 28,000. 

“I’d be cautious with the Hamas statistics, and I can tell you that according to warfare experts (…) we brought down the civilian to terrorist casualty ratio down below 1 to 1 which is considerably less than in any other theatre of similar warfare," Netanyahu said.

On Thursday, President Biden offered one of his sharpest rebukes to date on Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, saying the operation to go after Hamas had been “over the top.”

Echoing some of his other comments to ABC, in a separate interview with Fox News on Sunday, Netanyahu said those who say the military can’t go into the southern Gaza city of Rafah essentially want Israel to lose. The Israeli prime minister claimed there is “plenty of room” for Gaza’s civilians to evacuate to ahead of a ground assault on Rafah.

CNN's Lauren Izso contributed to this report.

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will talk on Sunday, according to a spokesman for the National Security Council.

A source familiar with the expected call says the focus will be on the hostages still held in Gaza. 

Over the last several months, United States has attempted to put more pressure on the Israeli government to support a “humanitarian pause.” But those efforts have so far yielded little success.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu called Hamas’ recent proposals for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza “delusional.”

The phone call comes a few days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials earlier this week that the civilian toll in Gaza “remains too high” as violence continues to escalate in the region.

“Nearly 2 million people have been displaced from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are experiencing acute hunger. Most have lost someone that they love. And day after day, more people are killed,” Blinken said at a news conference held earlier this week after meeting with top Israeli officials.

Ahead of a looming ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off mounting criticism of plans to enter the city, saying telling Israel not to enter the southern Gazan city was like telling the country to lose the war.

Netanyahu directed his military to prepare to evacuate an estimated 1.3 million people in the city — many of whom were already displaced from other parts of the enclave and say they have nowhere to go.

On Saturday, an Israeli official told CNN that Netanyahu wants the Rafah operation completed by the start of Ramadan on March 10.

But Netanyahu's plans have come under heavy criticism: such a ground offensive would mean the end of hostage negotiations, Hamas-run television channel Al-Aqsa quoted a source as saying Sunday.

Here's what to know today: