March 16, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

The World Central Kitchen (WCK) NGO said Saturday that the 200 tonnes of food brought to Gaza from Cyprus is being readied for distribution in the Strip, after having been successfully offloaded.

WCK said it is preparing a second boat of 240 tonnes of humanitarian food aid for another delivery to Gaza from Cyprus. The food aid includes pallets of canned goods and bulk products – including beans, carrots, canned tuna, chickpeas, canned corn, parboiled rice, flour, oil and salt.

The second boat also has two fork-lifts and a crane to assist with future maritime deliveries to Gaza.

The NGO has not yet confirmed when this second ship will be ready to set sail toward Gaza.

WCK also said it will be providing food for the daily airdrops planned by the Jordanians for every day of Ramadan.

Aid agencies' warnings: With Palestinians in Gaza in dire need, any aid is welcome, but aid groups say maritime and airdropped aid should be complementary to land deliveries, not a substitute. Agencies and officials have repeatedly warned that no method of humanitarian relief can be as effective as delivery by land.

In a joint statement, 25 non-governmental organizations called on states to prioritize a ceasefire and increased land-based aid deliveries, warning that maritime aid may set a dangerous precedent that undermines land routes and allows for prolonged hostilities.

Israel will review the latest response from Hamas in the talks for a ceasefire and hostage release, Israel's Prime Minister's Office said Friday, and a delegation is likely to travel to Qatar early next week for further talks.

A diplomat familiar with the discussions told CNN it's "not going to be easy to convince Israelis" to agree to Hamas' terms in the latest proposal, while another diplomatic source said mediation efforts are moving in a positive direction "but are not there yet."

Relatives of hostages gathered in protest outside the Israeli military headquarters on Friday, calling on the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "make a decision that will save our beloved ones."

Here's what else you need to know:

The United Nations agency for children on Friday reported an increase in acute malnutrition rates among children in the northern Gaza Strip, with figures doubling within just one month.

According to findings published by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, "1 in 3 children under 2 years of age are today acutely malnourished in the north," citing information gathered from nutrition screenings conducted by UNICEF and its partners.

At least 23 children have died from malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza in recent weeks, UNICEF added.

UNICEF's screenings in February revealed that severe wasting, the most dangerous form of malnutrition, affects 4.5% of children in shelters and health centers, a condition that significantly increases the risk of death without immediate treatment.

The health ministry in Gaza reports that 13,450 Gazan children have been killed since October 7. 

A senior Hamas official told CNN that he cannot provide any assurances about the wellbeing of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, but rejected a United Nations special representative’s finding that there is “clear and convincing information” that some of them have been sexually abused.

In a wide-ranging and sometimes contentious Zoom interview from his office in Istanbul, Turkey, Naim spoke to CNN on Wednesday about the state of ceasefire negotiations with Israel, the fate of 130 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, and Hamas’ share of responsibility for the widespread devastation unleashed by the Israeli military in Gaza in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,200 people.

During the interview, Naim rejected defining Hamas’ attacks as terrorism, falsely claiming that his organization does not target civilians. Instead, he blamed Israel for carrying out what he claimed is “state terrorism” in Gaza and reiterated Hamas’ calls for Palestinians to join in “armed resistance” against Israel during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began Sunday night.

Israel has denied targeting civilians and accuses Hamas of hiding behind civilian infrastructure. More than 31,000 people, a majority of whom are women and children, have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli military campaign began, according to the health ministry in the enclave.

Read more of the wide-ranging interview with Basem Naim.

The Israeli military released a video Friday that it claimed shows "Palestinian gunmen opening fire in the midst of Gazan civilians" as they waited for desperately needed food in Gaza City on Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces' aerial video does not show clear details on whether the people in the video were carrying guns or opening fire on civilians around them. CNN can not independently verify the content of the video, the location or the time.

The Israel Defense Forces said the events in the video happened "about an hour before the humanitarian aid convoy entered the area" of the Kuwait roundabout in Gaza City on Thursday. The roundabout is an area where aid trucks are known to pass out food and where crowds of people frequently gather.

What Gazans have said: While the IDF denies opening fire on civilians Thursday, the video does not disprove claims made by the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza and eyewitness accounts that CNN previously reported.

The health ministry said at least 20 people were killed and 155 were wounded by Israeli shelling as they sought humanitarian aid at the roundabout. Eyewitnesses said the area was struck by what sounded like tank or artillery fire.

A man identifying himself as Ibrahim Al-Najar, who went to Al-Shifa Hospital after the reported attack, said: "We were sitting there, and there was nothing. Suddenly, they bombarded us with shells."

Israel's military denied these accounts Thursday.

Violence at aid distributions: Gazans have reported several other attacks by Israeli soldiers on crowds lining up for aid in recent weeks, including Wednesday at the same site as Thursday's incident.

An Israeli delegation is likely traveling to Doha early next week for further talks on a ceasefire-hostage release deal, an Israeli official with direct knowledge told CNN Friday.

Israel's war cabinet will convene on Saturday evening to discuss and formulate the guidelines for the delegation, the official said.

The delegation will go to Doha after Hamas submitted a new response to Egyptian and Qatari mediators in the ongoing talks, which the source called "extreme and absurd."

A second Israeli official who spoke to CNN on Friday said Israel will make a decision by the end of Saturday about the scope of the mandate given to the negotiating team and will authorize the mediators to promote indirect negotiations with Hamas.

The delegation is expected to depart at the beginning of next week, the second Israeli official said.

The Israeli and Hamas delegations are both set to be in Doha at the same time, but not sitting in the same room.

Nongovernmental organization World Central Kitchen, which organized the first aid ship to Gaza, confirmed to CNN Friday that the first pallet of aid has been offloaded successfully into the besieged enclave. 

A spokesperson for the nonprofit, founded by chef José Andrés, said the pallet was offloaded after the ship's barge was connected successfully to the purpose-built jetty in central Gaza. The jetty was rapidly assembled by workers who began construction on or after March 10, according to satellite images provided to CNN by Maxar on Thursday. 

The Israeli military completed a security inspection on the ship and the aid it was carrying when it arrived, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Friday. The check was to ensure "compliance with safety standards," the IDF said.

WCK said it also hopes to send a second aid ship to Gaza soon and began loading new supplies onto a vessel docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca on Friday. 

They also managed to load a large crane, which they hope "will assist with future maritime deliveries to Gaza." The NGO has not yet been able to confirm when this second ship will be able to set sail toward Gaza. 

More on aid to Gaza: With Palestinians in Gaza in dire need, any aid is welcome, but aid groups say maritime and airdropped aid should be complementary to land deliveries, not a substitute. Agencies and officials have repeatedly warned that no method of humanitarian relief can be as effective as delivery by land.

In a joint statement, 25 non-governmental organizations called on states to prioritize a ceasefire and increased land-based aid deliveries, warning that maritime aid may set a dangerous precedent that undermines land routes and allows for prolonged hostilities.

CNN’s Amir Tal and Eyad Kourdi contributed reporting to this post

The White House has not seen any plans from the Israeli government related to Rafah, a US National Security Council spokesperson told CNN, following comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office Friday approving "plans for action" in the southernmost Gazan city.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces was preparing for both “the operational side” of a military operation, as well as for the “evacuation of the population.” More than a million Palestinians are in the city, with many of them having been forced to flee there since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

US President Joe Biden said last weekend in an interview that he viewed Israel going into Rafah as a "red line," which the White House then attempted to walk back. White House officials have said repeatedly that the Biden administration would not condone Israel expanding its military operations into Rafah without a credible plan to protect civilians in the area. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed the comments during a news conference in Vienna on Friday with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

CNN's Michael Conte contributed reporting to this post.

The US carried out its 11th airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Friday, US Central Command said in a statement.

Two C-130 Hercules aircraft and a C-17 Globemaster dropped 35,700 meals into northern Gaza, as well as 31,800 bottles of water, CENTCOM said. 

“These airdrops are part of a sustained effort, and we continue to plan follow-on aerial activities,” the statement said.

The effort to airdrop aid into Gaza continues as the US has begun the process of establishing a floating pier to allow in far greater quantities of aid.

Some key context: While the United Nations and aid groups have welcomed the meals, they have warned that maritime or airdropped aid cannot replace aid delivered by land, which since October 7 has been increasingly restricted by Israel. Israel maintains that it is working to respond to the needs on the ground in Gaza.