March 15, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

The latest response from Hamas in the talks for a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza will be submitted to the Israeli War Cabinet and Security Cabinet on Friday, Israel's Prime Minister's Office said.

In response to the latest proposal, the office said that "Hamas is continuing to hold to unrealistic demands."

CNN has previously reported that the first phase of a deal had been expected to include a six-week humanitarian pause, the release of around 40 Israeli hostages, and a large number of Palestinian prisoners. The hostages would be the remaining Israel women - including IDF soldiers, the elderly, sick and wounded.

Sticking points: Hamas had refused to send Israel a list of all the hostages believed to be alive or dead. Hamas has been asking for a large number of Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged, additional aid into the strip, and the IDF to withdraw from Gaza in a second phase.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told CNN’s Becky Anderson this week that the two sides are “engaged in constructive dialogue between both sides, the situation on the ground is very much difficult, and we are nowhere near a deal at the moment.”

A group of civilians gathered on Gaza's shoreline told CNN that they were waiting "patiently" for an aid ship that was approaching the enclave on Friday morning.  

The ship organized by NGO World Central Kitchen set off from Cyprus on Tuesday and is less than 10km (6.2 miles) from the coast. 

A father named Ibrahim who was among the group of civilians said it was "not clear" how the 200 tons of food aid onboard the ship would be distributed. 

World Central Kitchen previously told CNN it had engaged a huge number of volunteers and contractors to help organize and distribute the aid when it is unloaded at a purpose-built jetty. 

Speaking to a journalist working for CNN, Ibrahim said he hoped the food would be enough to help those on the brink of starvation. 

Ibrahim said he would take any aid he received directly to his children, who had gone a long time without certain food items. 

An aid ship bound for Gaza is less than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) off the coast, according to MarineTraffic.com data.

The aid ship departed Cyprus on Tuesday with 200 tons of food onboard, according to World Central Kitchen, a non-profit that said it is the first maritime shipment of aid to Gaza.

Eyewitnesses in the northern part of Gaza told CNN on Friday that they could see a white non-military cargo ship off the coast — something Gazans don't often see — and that it is within the maritime borders of the enclave and being accompanied by an Israeli military ship.

CNN has asked the Israeli military for confirmation.

WCK has partnered with the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and the Spanish charity Open Arms to coordinate the dispatch.

Brink of famine: Israel’s siege on Gaza has drastically diminished essential supplies entering the strip, where Palestinians are facing starvation, dehydration and hunger.

As Israel continues to restrict the entry of aid via land crossings, countries are trying to get aid into the enclave via air and sea routes, as more than two million people in Gaza await desperate aid.

The United Nations World Food Programme has said people in Gaza are facing "crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity". 

Hope is fading for the imminent return of the international crew of a cargo ship hijacked by the Houthis last year, with a Filipino diplomat saying he does not expect a release until the war in Gaza is over and the Houthis saying the sailors' fate is now in Hamas’ hands.

A Houthi-owned helicopter hijacked the Galaxy Leader cargo ship on November 19 in the Red Sea, as rebel gunmen laid siege to the vessel and took the ship’s crew of 17 Filipinos, two Bulgarians, three Ukrainians, two Mexicans and a Romanian hostage.

It’s been more than 116 days since the hijacking and there is no indication that the Houthis are open to releasing them until the hostilities end, according to a senior Filipino government official.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been striking ships in the Red Sea since late last year, which they say is retaliation against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

The Houthis said Thursday they had handed over the decision about the release of the Galaxy Leader to Hamas.

Read more on the crew held hostage in the Red Sea.

A merchant ship in the Red Sea was “struck by a missile,” resulting in damage to the vessel, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said Friday in a warning note.

The British maritime tracking agency said the incident happened 76 nautical miles west of Yemen’s western port city of Hodeidah. It did not specify the nationality or flag of the vessel.

UKMTO said that the crew was reported safe and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call.

Red Sea attacks: In recent weeks, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been stepping up strikes on commercial ships in the Red Sea, in attacks that they say are retaliation against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

The US and UK have deployed anti-ship missiles and other weapons to intercept the Houthi attacks in the economically vital waterway.

The Australian government announced on Friday that it would resume funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) following steps to strengthen the integrity of the organization's operations.

More than a dozen countries, including the US and UK, had paused their funding for UNRWA after Israel alleged that several of the agency’s employees were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.

UNWRA has fired employees implicated in the accusations and warned it may be forced to halt its work in Gaza as funds dry up.

In resuming funding, the Australian government said it is "responding to a humanitarian situation in Gaza which is dire."

It said its decision was "in line with steps taken by Canada, Sweden and the EU."

The government said the funding agreement "will include stringent conditions such as guarantees of staff neutrality, and confidence in supply chains."

Australia said it will also deliver 140 parachutes for use in humanitarian airdrops by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

Australia will also provide about $2.6 million to UNICEF and about $1.3 million to a new mechanism of the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza.

Israeli shelling killed at least 20 people and wounded 155 others as civilians waited for food aid in Gaza City on Thursday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the attack and said it was assessing "the incident with the thoroughness that it deserves."

The Palestinian Health Ministry accused Israeli forces of "targeting a gathering of citizens waiting for humanitarian aid to satisfy their thirst at the Kuwaiti Roundabout in Gaza."

The roundabout is known to be an area where aid trucks commonly distribute food, attracting crowds of people desperate for supplies.

Videos showed dozens of bodies at the scene covered in rubble.

Eyewitnesses said the area was struck by what sounded like tank or artillery fire.

The attack came a day after at least seven Palestinians were killed at the same roundabout when Israeli troops opened fire as civilians waited for humanitarian aid, according to an eyewitness and a doctor at a nearby hospital.

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Israeli shelling killed at least 20 people and wounded 155 others as civilians waited for food aid on Thursday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

The ministry accused Israeli forces of "targeting a gathering of citizens waiting for humanitarian aid to satisfy their thirst at the Kuwaiti Roundabout in Gaza."

The roundabout in Gaza City is known to be an area where aid trucks commonly distribute food, attracting crowds of people desperate for supplies.

The ministry said nearby hospitals didn't have the staff or supplies to deal with the volume and severity of injuries.

Graphic footage from the immediate aftermath of the scene filed by an eyewitness showed multiple bodies with traumatic injuries as well as pools of blood on a street strewn with rubble and dust.

Eyewitnesses said the area was struck by what sounded like tank or artillery fire.

In a statement shared with CNN early Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied attacking the food line and said it was assessing "the incident with the thoroughness that it deserves."

Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal also accused Israel of being behind the attack in a statement late Thursday.

Earlier violence at the site: At least seven Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded on Wednesday when Israeli forces opened fire on civilians gathered to receive aid at the roundabout, an eyewitness and a doctor at Al-Shifa Hospital told CNN on Thursday.

The IDF did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday's alleged shooting.

The Gaza-based Government Media Office said Tuesday that at least 400 people had been killed in similar incidents since the beginning of the war.

On February 29, at least 112 people were killed and 760 wounded after IDF troops used live fire as hungry and desperate Palestinian civilians were gathering around food aid trucks. 

CNN cannot independently verify casualty figures due to the lack of international media access to the enclave.

The US State Department announced new sanctions on three Israeli settlers and two farms in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, as the administration targets threats to peace and security in the area.

The latest sanctions follow an executive order signed by President Joe Biden last month aimed at targeting violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank whom he said undermined stability in the area.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said that "since the horrific terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, violence in the West Bank has increased sharply."

Miller reiterated the US position that there is "no justification for extremist violence against civilians or forcing families from their homes, whatever their national origin, ethnicity, race, or religion."

More on US sanctions: One of the individuals sanctioned, Moshe Sharvit, "repeatedly harassed, threatened, and attacked Palestinian civilians and Israeli human rights defenders in the vicinity of MOSHES FARM, an outpost in the West Bank," a fact sheet from the State Department said. 

A settlement that was sanctioned, Zvis Farm, "perpetrates violence against Palestinians and prevents local Palestinian farmers from accessing and using their lands," the document said. 

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that the US Treasury Department's decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank was "further proof that the US government does not understand who is the enemy and who is a friend."

Settler violence: About 500,000 Israeli Jewish settlers live in the West Bank according to Peace Now, an Israeli rights and monitoring group. Many settlements are heavily guarded, fenced-off areas that are off-limits to Palestinians.

Most of the world considers the settlements illegal under international law and Israel has been criticized for allowing their expansion.