Our live coverage of Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza has moved here.
February 17, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
By Chris Lau, Andrew Raine, Amarachi Orie and Adrienne Vogt, CNN
Updated 0508 GMT (1308 HKT) February 18, 2024
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Dozens more reportedly killed by strikes in Gaza as Israel vows to destroy Hamas. Catch up here
From CNN staff
At least 50 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on central and southern Gaza on Saturday, according to doctors at hospitals in the strip. The Israel Defense Forces said it struck a series of Hamas "command and control centers" in central Gaza.
These are the biggest headlines from the war on Saturday:
- Airstrikes kill dozens, doctors say: At least 44 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured due to Israeli airstrikes on multiple neighborhoods in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Saturday, a doctor from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Video obtained by CNN from Al-Aqsa shows injured children among those being rushed in for treatment, and dead bodies wrapped in cloth on the hospital floor, including a deceased baby. The IDF said its jets hit Hamas targets in the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah neighborhoods. In the southernmost city of Rafah, a hospital director told CNN that new Israeli airstrikes killed at least 13 people.
- Israeli offensive looms in Rafah: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military has a "realistic" plan for an anticipated ground operation in the city, claiming there is room for displaced Palestinians to move north, but "we have to do it in an orderly way." Palestinians crammed into the city say they have nowhere left to go, but some have been trying to flee northward as Israeli airstrikes ramp up.
- Dire situation at Nasser Hospital: 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 Friday night local time. In a statement issued Saturday, the IDF said operations were still underway in Khan Younis, where the hospital is located, with “approximately 100 individuals suspected of terrorist activity being apprehended.” Israeli special forces entered the hospital complex on Thursday, alleging that Hamas militants were inside.
- Status of hostage and ceasefire deal: As talks on a deal seem to be at an impasse, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani emphasized the urgent need to end the conflict and prevent escalation while speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. He said a ceasefire should not be conditional to a hostage deal. Meanwhile, Israel’s Coordinator for the Captives and the Missing Gal Hirsch told CNN on Saturday that Hamas' demands for a hostage deal are “delusional,” which Netanyahu later echoed.
- Protests: Police arrested 12 people during pro-Palestinian marches in London Saturday, according to the Metropolitan Police. About 250,000 demonstrators participated, according to Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which organized the event to call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. In Israel, thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv and Caesarea on Saturday, calling for the dismissal of Netanyahu and his government. The prime minister called for "unity," saying, "The last thing we need now is a new election."
- US strikes on Houthi targets: The US said it made two successful strikes on Houthi rebel targets in the Red Sea out of self-defense on Friday. The US identified one of the weapons, a missile, as an "imminent threat" to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. The group maintains the attacks in the Red Sea are intended to pressure Israel and its allies to stop the war in Gaza.
More than a dozen killed in airstrikes on Rafah, according to hospital director
From CNN's Abeer Salman, Eyad Kourdi and staff
Two Israeli airstrikes on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza killed at least 13 Palestinians, Dr. Marwan Al-Homss, the general director of Abu Yousuf Al-Najjar Government Hospital, told CNN on Saturday.
According to Al-Homss, the first airstrike hit a location in northern Rafah, leading to the deaths of six members of a family, including women and children. A second strike in an open area where displaced residents had sought refuge killed at least seven people, including four children, a woman, a man and a teenager, according to Al-Homss.
Israel claims it is targeting Hamas in Rafah. On Saturday, Israel’s Coordinator for the Captives and the Missing Gal Hirsch told CNN the Israeli military is doing "everything we can to avoid possible damage."
Looming Israeli ground offensive: Israel has been bombarding Rafah with airstrikes for weeks and says it is committed to a ground offensive in the city. The alternative “is to surrender to Hamas and to sacrifice 134 people,” military spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told CNN Tuesday, referring to the Israelis held hostage in Gaza. “That is not an option from Israel’s perspective,” he said.
The United Nations aid chief has said an offensive in Rafah could lead to "a slaughter." Palestinians there say they have nowhere to run. Some have tried to flee north to central Deir al-Balah, where doctors also reported deadly airstrikes Saturday.
Over 40 dead from Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza, doctor says
From Eyad Kourdi and CNN staff
At least 44 Palestinians were killed and dozens more were injured due to Israeli airstrikes on multiple neighborhoods in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Saturday, a doctor from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital told CNN on Saturday.
Doctors from Al-Aqsa and Al-Awda hospitals earlier told CNN at least 30 people had been killed.
Video obtained by CNN from Al-Aqsa shows injured children among those being rushed in for treatment, and dead bodies wrapped in cloth on the hospital floor, including a deceased baby.
The Israel Defense Forces said it struck a series of Hamas "operational command and control centers" in central Gaza Saturday. The IDF said its jets hit Hamas targets in the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah neighborhoods.
The number of people killed in Gaza since October 7 has risen to 28,858, with 68,291 people injured, the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said Saturday. Israel estimates about 10,000 Hamas militants have been killed since October 7.
CNN can’t independently verify the casualty figures in Gaza due to limited access to the area.
This post has been updated with the latest death and injury tolls from a doctor in Gaza.
Qatari prime minister says ceasefire shouldn't be conditional to hostage deal
From Eyad Kourdi
Qatar's prime minister emphasized the urgent need to end the Israel-Hamas conflict and prevent escalation while speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
"Now we are focused on the priority of how to end this war and how to avoid further escalation," Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said.
Al-Thani, who is also the foreign minister, said some countries believe "that in order to get a ceasefire, it’s conditional to have the hostage deal. It shouldn’t be conditioned."
"What should be conditional is the humanitarian catastrophe over there; we feel for all the people. The crimes are condemned, whoever is the perpetrator," he added.
Recent talks in Cairo between Qatar, Egypt, Israel and the US have yet to result in a deal.
US President Joe Biden said Friday that he’s had “extensive conversations” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he has relayed his position that there should be a temporary ceasefire to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza.
Netanyahu claims Israel has "realistic" plan for Rafah as he faces dire warnings about fate of civilians
From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu and Jennifer Hauser
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that his forces have a "realistic" plan for their ground operations in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah, where he is facing growing international pressure to protect civilians.
Roughly 1.5 million Palestinians are seeking shelter in the southern Gaza city near the border with Egypt — many of them already displaced from elsewhere in the enclave. The United Nations aid chief has said an operation there could lead to "a slaughter." Palestinians in the city say they have nowhere left to go.
“Our ability to enter Rafah has been proven as realistic,” Netanyahu said in a news conference Saturday, claiming there is room for the displaced to move north, but "we have to do it in an orderly way."
He said he told US President Joe Biden this week that, "Israel is going to fight until we reach total victory, and that includes also ground offensive in Rafah — of course after we let citizens there to evacuate to other safe places."
When Biden spoke with Netanyahu Thursday, he urged him not to proceed with operations without a "credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilians," according to the White House.
On hostage talks: Netanyahu also echoed the remarks of his hostage coordinator, who told CNN on Saturday that Hamas' demands for a ceasefire and hostage release — such as stopping the war and releasing thousands of Palestinian prisoners — are "delusional."
Pressure at home: The prime minister's comments came as thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv and Caesarea on Saturday, calling for the dismissal of Netanyahu and his government. The prime minister called for "unity," saying, "The last thing we need now is a new election."
US says it successfully struck "imminent threat" from Houthi rebels in Red Sea
From CNN’s Casey Gannon
The US says it made two successful strikes on Houthi rebel targets in the Red Sea out of self-defense on Friday.
The targets included one mobile anti-ship cruise missile and one mobile unmanned surface vessel belonging to the Iranian-backed group in Yemen, according to US Central Command. The US identified the missile as an "imminent threat" to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region.
Remember: The Houthis have frequently targeted shipping in the Red Sea in response to Israel's war on Gaza. The rebels have maintained that attacks will continue until the “aggression stops” on Gaza.
Hamas’ demands for hostage deal are "disconnected from reality," Israel’s hostage coordinator says
From CNN's Catherine Nicholls, Pauline Lockwood and Alex Marquardt
Hamas' demands for a hostage deal are “delusional” and need to be “close to reality,” Israel’s Coordinator for the Captives and the Missing Gal Hirsch told CNN on Saturday.
“We want a deal very much, and we know we need to pay prices. But Hamas’ demands are disconnected from reality — delusional,” the former Israel Defense Forces commander said in an interview with CNN’s Alex Marquardt at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
Hamas’ proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal envisaged a three-stage process over four-and-a-half months, during which Israeli troops would gradually withdraw from Gaza, hostages would be released and Palestinian prisoners in Israel would be freed, according to a copy of the group’s counteroffer obtained by CNN. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed this proposal as “delusional.”
The Israeli leader has repeatedly said the war in Gaza will continue until Israel destroys Hamas leadership and rescues the hostages.
There were further talks this week, but a number of sticking points emerged. CNN previously reported that US officials are increasingly concerned whether Netanyahu is genuinely interested in reaching a hostage deal at the present time, given the opposition to any form of compromise with Hamas from within his government.
Palestinian women describe terror of 12-mile escape on foot from Gaza City
From CNN's Abeer Salman and Mohammad Al Sawalhi
After being trapped in a building for more than a week in a neighborhood of Gaza City besieged by Israeli troops, a group of Palestinian women told CNN they were forced to flee south with their children, leaving other family members behind, and some walking barefoot for more than 12 miles along a stretch of coastline to escape.
One woman said she had no choice but to abandon her elderly stepmother on the beach, and feared she’d since been attacked by dogs that were roaming the area.
CNN spoke with the four women at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, where they arrived on February 3 with their 16 children — ages 9 months to 12 years — after walking for about eight hours in the cold rain from Gaza City. The group of relatives and neighbors, who are from Abu Eskandar, a neighborhood in northern Gaza, said they had sought shelter in Gaza City on their journey south, holing up in an apartment building in the Al-Rimal neighborhood.
In extensive interviews, the women alleged that Israeli forces abducted their husbands and sons, older relatives, and one sister, a female doctor, from the apartment building where they were sheltering in Gaza City. They accused the Israeli military of blowing up the building, as well as others nearby.
