In a statement released after the incident, the Israel Defense Forces says an Israeli soldier and security guard "neutralized the terrorist" following the stabbing incident.
The two individuals wounded in the incident were security personnel, according to an update from police.
The IDF said a "soldier at the scene was lightly injured" and taken to the hospital.
Police earlier said a 15-year-old arrived on his bicycle at the tunnel checkpoint around 8:15 a.m. local time and pulled out a knife while security forces at the crossing tried to check him. He began stabbing the forces operating there, police said.
10:03 a.m. ET, March 13, 2024
Relative of Palestinian boy facing starvation in northern Gaza says "there is no treatment" for him
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman and Sana Noor Haq
Ayman Al-Zanat, 28, worries that his young nephew, Fadi, will not make it through the night.
The Palestinian boy, age 6, clutches his chest while lying on a blue hospital bed in Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. He is suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
“The child's health condition is very bad and is not improving,” Al-Zanat told CNN on Tuesday. “The doctors told us that there is no treatment for his condition.”
Israel’s severe restrictions of aid entering Gaza have condemned Palestinians to deadly hunger. At least 27 Palestinians in Gaza have died of malnutrition and dehydration, the ministry said on Tuesday.
Fadi, who has cystic fibrosis, has been in the hospital for 10 days, according to Al-Zanat.
The boy's relatives say they are helpless. “The weakness and lack of energy in his body are increasing. ... We don't know what to do. Fadi does not sleep at night," added Al-Zanat.
Israel’s siege: Israel insists there is “no limit” on the amount of aid that can enter Gaza, but its inspection regime on aid trucks means relief is barely trickling in. Humanitarian workers and government officials overseeing aid distribution in Gaza previously told CNN a clear pattern has emerged of Israeli obstruction. They say the Israeli agency that controls access to Gaza has imposed arbitrary and contradictory criteria.
7:44 a.m. ET, March 13, 2024
Germany will begin aid airdrops into Gaza
From CNN's Chris Stern in Berlin
Germany’s Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius has approved the country’s air force carrying out humanitarian airdrops over the Gaza Strip.
“The people in Gaza lack the most basic necessities,” Pistorius said in a statement Wednesday.
"We want to do our part to ensure that they have access to food and medicine. The German Armed Forces are providing two Hercules transport aircraft, each of which can carry up to 18 tons of cargo," he said.
A statement published by the German defense ministry said Pistorius had signed a corresponding order to authorize the mission. It said aid drops could begin as early as the end of the week.
For context: While airdrops evade the often rigorous and lengthy examinations carried out at land checkpoints, aid agencies say their drawbacks overwhelmingly outweigh their benefits. They are more expensive, have limited delivery capacity and may culminate in chaos.
“Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid,” according to Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s United Nations director.
4:25 a.m. ET, March 13, 2024
Mediator Qatar says it hopes for Israel-Hamas truce before April 9
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman and Celine Alkhaldi
Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said Wednesday that he hopes a truce agreement will be reached between Israel and Hamas before the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on April 9.
Qatar, a mediator in the negotiations, “seeks to push the two parties to reach an agreement,” he said in a post on X.
His statement comes a day after he told CNN’s Becky Anderson that “we are nowhere near a deal at the moment.”
4:21 a.m. ET, March 13, 2024
Two security personnel wounded in stabbing near Jerusalem
From CNN's Amir Tal and Alex Stambaugh
Two security personnel were wounded on Wednesday in a stabbing near a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank, according to police.
Police said a 15-year-old arrived on his bicycle at the tunnel checkpoint at about 8:15 a.m. and pulled out a knife to attack security forces as they tried to check him.
An Israel Defense Forces member shot and killed the attacker, police said.
The wounded personnel, a 25-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman, were in mild to moderate condition, Israel's emergency service Magen David Adom said in a statement.
1:34 a.m. ET, March 13, 2024
It's morning in the Middle East. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
A ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza is en route from Cyprus, according to nonprofit World Central Kitchen, which said it was the first maritime shipment of humanitarian aid to the enclave.
The departure comes after announcements that Cyprus, the European Union, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom were working to establish a maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza.
World Central Kitchensaid it planned to distribute supplies for roughly 500,000 meals once the vessel reaches Gaza, including rice, flour, beans, lentils, and canned meats.
The UN World Food Programme said a food convoy reached Gaza City on Tuesday —the first to successfully access the northern part of the enclave since February 20.
Here's what to know:
Status of negotiations: Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told CNN that "we are nowhere near a deal at the moment." He said some officials — including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — "have the keys to secure a deal right now," urging them to consider negotiations. CIA Director Bill Burns said there is "still the possibility" of a deal, but it is "a very rough process."
Death toll: The Gaza health ministry said Wednesday that 31,184 people had been killed since October 7, with over 72,000 wounded. CNN cannot independently confirm these numbers due to the lack of international media access to Gaza.
Dual citizen dead: Itay Chen, a dual American-Israeli citizen, was killed on October 7, the Israeli military said Tuesday. He was serving on the Gaza border that day, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. The Israel Defense Forces said his remains were taken into Gaza after he was killed.
Police kill boy: An Israeli border police officer fatally shot a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in Shuafat refugee camp in occupied east Jerusalem, according to hospital officials and Israeli police. In a video obtained by CNN, the boy is seen holding a lit firework above his head before the sound of a single gunshot.
Warning to Palestinians: Hamas-linked website Al Majd Security has warned Palestinians that working with Israel — including facilitating the delivery of aid and food — would be considered as collaborating with the enemy and an act of betrayal against the Palestinian people. Al Majd Security is Hamas' intelligence body, founded in the 1980s by Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' political leader in Gaza, to monitor Palestinian entities directly working with Israel.
11:47 p.m. ET, March 12, 2024
Houthis fire close-range ballistic missile at US warship but miss, CENTCOM says
From CNN's Mary Kay Mallonee
The Houthis fired a close-range ballistic missile from Yemen toward the USS Laboon in the Red Sea on Tuesday, US Central Command said.
The missile did not hit the guided-missile destroyer, which is homeported in Norfolk, Virginia, CENTCOM said. There were no injuries or damage reported.
US forces and a coalition ship also destroyed two drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, CENTCOM said.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since shortly after Israel's war with Hamas began, with the group trying to pressure Israel and its allies to stop its offensive in Gaza.
11:46 p.m. ET, March 12, 2024
IDF says UN aid convoy entered northern Gaza via new route
From CNN's Lauren Izso
Six humanitarian trucks containing aid from the United Nations' World Food Programme entered the northern Gaza Strip using a new route, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The IDF tried out a pilot program by bringing in aid trucks to Gaza through the "96th" gate on the security fence Tuesday.
"This was done as part of a pilot in order to prevent the Hamas terrorist organization from taking over the aid," the IDF said in a statement, adding that Israeli security officials carried out a security check on the trucks at the Kerem Shalom Crossing first.
Government officials will assess the pilot's results.
1:35 a.m. ET, March 13, 2024
Israeli border police officer kills 12-year-old Palestinian at refugee camp in Jerusalem
From CNN’s Abeer Salman, Kareem Khadder, Jeremy Diamond and Mitchell McCluskey
An Israeli border police officer fatally shot a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in Shuafat refugee camp located in occupied east Jerusalem, according to hospital officials and an Israeli police spokesperson.
In a video obtained by CNN, the boy – Rami Al Halhouli – can be seen holding a lit firework above his head before the crackling sound of a single gunshot is heard. The boy falls to the ground just as the firework launches from his hand into the sky.
Rami arrived at Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital's trauma unit in critical condition and was pronounced dead soon after, hospital officials told CNN.
No security forces are visible in the video of Rami holding the firework, but the boy appears to be standing in front of the West Bank separation barrier.
The Israeli police spokesperson said police forces responded to a “violent disturbance” at the refugee camp and a border police officer fired “towards a suspect who endangered the forces while firing aerial fireworks in their direction.”
The police spokesperson also claimed individuals on Tuesday night threw Molotov cocktails and fired fireworks directly at security forces. Israeli police said it was the second night in a row that Palestinians in Shuafat aimed Molotov cocktails and fireworks at police forces.
In a Telegram post, Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir applauded the soldier who fatally shot the boy.
"I salute the soldier who killed the terrorist who tried to shoot fireworks at him and the troops — this is exactly how you should act against terrorists — with determination and precision," Ben-Gvir said.
The shooting came on the third night of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which has been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in previous years.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli troops fatally shot two other Palestinians at Al-Jib checkpoint in the northern outskirts of Jerusalem, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.