February 17, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

A “large number” of medical personnel, patients and displaced people remain trapped inside southern Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health said in a statement on Friday night local time.

It said those trapped in the maternity building of the enclave's largest functioning medical center had been subjected to “interrogation in harsh and inhumane conditions” by Israeli forces.

Electricity also remains cut off to the complex as a result of generators not working, increasing the chances of death for cases requiring oxygen.

Five medical personnel and 120 patients remain in the old building of the compound without food or water, it said.

The statement also claimed Israeli forces had prevented the evacuation of serious cases to other hospitals.

About 100 people detained: In a statement issued Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said operations were still underway in Khan Younis, where Nasser Hospital is located, with “approximately 100 individuals suspected of terrorist activity being apprehended.”

Israeli special forces entered the hospital complex on Thursday, with the IDF saying, “Hamas terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside Nasser hospital."

The IDF also claimed there was "credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages" that bodies of deceased hostages may be present there. The military did not publicly release evidence to back up its claim.

Hamas said it had “no business” in the hospital. 

Displaced Palestinians in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah are fleeing toward northern Deir al-Balah as Israeli airstrikes intensify and the prospect of ground operations in the city approaches, according to a UN body.

What Israel is saying: On Friday, former Israeli alternate prime minister and current war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said Israel “won’t stop” until all hostages are returned, even if that means continuing hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. 

He added that Israel is preparing for a military incursion into Rafah, and will act “in dialogue” with its partners, including Egypt, and “direct the population to protected areas.”

In a separate statement on Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters Israel had “no intention” of sending Palestinians into Egypt as part of an evacuation of Rafah. Gallant provided no further details about a potential evacuation.

This post has been updated to specify Gantz’s former role in an Israeli emergency government.

Five patients at Nasser Hospital, Gaza's largest functioning medical facility, died on Friday after power was lost at the hospital, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The death comes as Israeli special forces raided the hospital on Thursday after laying siege to the facility for days. Israel's military claimed it apprehended more than 20 suspects from the October 7 attack by Hamas and found weapons amid their continued raid of the hospital in Khan Younis. António Guterres, the United Nation's secretary-general, condemned the raid.

Here are the latest developments in the conflict:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided on Friday that the “perilous situation” in the Gaza strip does not demand further provisional measures beyond those already in place.

On January 26, the ICJ ordered Israel to “take all measures” to limit the death and destruction caused by its military campaign, prevent and punish incitement to genocide, and ensure access to humanitarian aid. This was in response to South Africa previously accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which Israel has denied.

The ICJ’s Friday decision is in response to an urgent request from South Africa asking the court to consider whether the escalating situation in Rafah — where millions of Palestinians have sought shelter from nonstop bombardment across the territory — calls for additional provisional measures.

Subsequently, Israel’s lawyers filed a series of statements in which they argued that “the provisional measures already indicated by the Court cover the situation of hostilities in Gaza as a whole.”

The ICJ decided the measures were sufficient, noting their decision accounted for the recent developments in Rafah.

Reacting to the latest urgent request at the ICJ, Israel accused South Africa of trying to deny Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens.

"South Africa's legally and factually unfounded submission proves once again that it is the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organization," Lior Haiat, Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson, said Wednesday.

A doctor trapped inside Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza said the wards and corridors “are still flooded with beds” as Israeli forces continued to raid what was the largest remaining functioning hospital in the enclave.

On Friday, details emerged of the grim conditions faced by those left inside the facility. At least five patients died after Israel’s attack caused the complex to lose power, the ministry said, adding that Nasser Hospital was “without electricity, water, food, and heating.”

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they did not target the hospital's power supply, but a generator malfunction had caused the power outage. Despite the outage, the IDF said that "all vital systems" remained functional due to a backup power system. The IDF said troops with the Israeli military also supplied alternative generators, food for infants, water and diesel fuel to the hospital.

On Thursday, Israeli special forces entered Nasser. The Israeli military has since said they've found weapons inside the facility and that they have detained over 20 suspects from the October 7 attack amid the raid.

CNN’s Abeer Salman contributed reporting.

US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House Friday that he’s had “extensive conversations” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the last several days, where he relayed his position “that there has to be a temporary ceasefire” to secure the safe release of hostages still held by Hamas.

Biden also said his "hope and expectation" is that a hostage and ceasefire deal will be reached. "The deal is being negotiated now, and we're gonna see where it takes us," he said.

US conversations with Israel: CNN reported earlier this week that US officials have been direct in their talks with Israeli counterparts that the estimated 1.3 million people currently in the southernmost city of Rafah simply “have nowhere to go” ahead of an expected ground offensive, according to a senior administration official.

The Biden administration is highly skeptical about whether Netanyahu’s direction to Israel’s military for an “evacuation of the population” out of Rafah before Israel forces enter is even remotely feasible.

Israel released more details on Friday about the 12 employees of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees that it has accused of participating in the October 7 terrorist attacks and kidnappings, including their names, photos, and alleged roles with Hamas.

The additional details included screengrabs of what Israel said were two United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employees — a social worker and math teacher — in Israel on October 7. The defense ministry also provided identification photos of 10 other alleged Hamas members, their positions and alleged involvement in the attack, but did not provide any supporting evidence to back up its claims.

CNN could not independently verify the identity of the men or Israel’s allegations about their involvement with Hamas.

An UNRWA spokesperson said the United Nations' highest investigative authority is investigating the matter, but declined to comment on the additional details provided by Israel on Friday due to the investigation.

Some background: Israel presented the United Nations, the United States and other allies with a dossier last month that included allegations about these 12 UNRWA employees — out of 13,000 in Gaza — leading more than a dozen countries to suspend funding to the agency, which plays a central role in feeding and sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the strip.

UNRWA quickly fired 10 of the 12 staff members accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 attacks and launched an investigation into the allegations in hopes of keeping international funding to the agency flowing at a critical time. The United Nations said two of the 12 had died.

Read more details about Israel's allegations.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel has “no intention” of sending Palestinians into Egypt as part of an evacuation of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where Israel has said it will concentrate its next military offensive.

Gallant’s comments come amid reports that Egypt is building a miles-wide buffer zone along its border with Gaza as part of a contingency plan in case large numbers of Palestinian refugees flood into Egypt.

Israeli officials have said the military is working on a detailed plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of a planned offensive there, but they have yet to share any details of the plan.

Gallant provided no details about a potential evacuation on Friday, but said, “we are thoroughly planning future operations in Rafah, which is a significant Hamas stronghold.”

Israeli war cabinet minister and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Israel “won’t stop” until all hostages in Gaza are returned, even if that means continuing hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“I would like to convey a message to all citizens of Israel and to the families of the hostages: We don't stop — until they are returned,” Gantz said in a video on Friday. “There will not be a ceasefire even for one day until our hostages are returned.”

Gantz said the fighting would continue, regardless of the time of the year.

Gantz added Israel is preparing for a ground offensive into Rafah and will act “in dialogue” with its partners, including Egypt, and “direct the population to protected areas.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the operation in Rafah must be completed by the start of Ramadan on March 10, an Israeli official told CNN on Saturday.