March 20, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

An Israeli military raid launched on Monday is ongoing at Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, where thousands of people are sheltering in dire conditions.

Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told CNN the hospital is "besieged" by Israeli forces. The Israeli military said the site was being used by "senior Hamas terrorists."

Inside the hospital, people have reported being detained and “severely beaten,” and being fearful of moving between rooms. Others have called for "urgent intervention before the hospital turns into a mass grave."

Here are the latest developments in the war:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address Senate Republicans during their closed-door conference lunch today via video, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Netanyahu’s appearance today comes as Senate Republicans have rallied around him after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Netanyahu an obstacle to peace last week.

Netanyahu was invited by Sen. John Barrasso last week to address Senate Republicans during their annual retreat but he couldn’t make it.

One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants, Ron Dermer, and Israel's national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi will be heading to Washington, DC, to meet with US officials, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office obtained by CNN.

The statement did not say which US officials the Israeli delegation will meet with or when the visit will happen. The White House said it expects the visit to happen early next week. 

Dermer is currently a member of Israel’s war cabinet and a former ambassador to the United States.

The US has been calling on Israel to explain how it intends to keep safe over 1 million Palestinians who are seeking refuge in southern Gaza, as Israel warns that it will soon launch a military offensive into Rafah. So far, US President Joe Biden's administration says a plan has not been presented.

US wants Rafah alternatives: On Monday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Biden had asked Netanyahu to send a team to Washington “to hear U.S. concerns about Israel’s current Rafah planning and to lay out an alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements in Rafah and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground invasion.”

But the Israeli statement Tuesday said that Netanyahu “is determined to act in Rafah in order to finally eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions, while providing humanitarian solutions to the civilian population.” 

The Israeli delegation will be accompanied by a representative — who was not named — for Israel’s Coordination of Government Actions in the Territories, the statement said.

The World Health Organization issued another stark warning about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and a spokesperson on Tuesday said a growing number of infants there are on the “brink of death” from acute hunger.

While young children and infants are among the least able to cope with chronic hunger, the WHO says there is a rising number of dangerously underweight pregnant women, as well.

"This is entirely man-made, everything we're seeing medically; this was a territory where the health system functioned well," Harris said.

The WHO was aiming to build emergency malnutrition stabilization centers in Gaza, but progress had been hampered by a lack of security.

One center had been established in southern Gaza, and the WHO is attempting to establish one in northern Gaza, “but we can’t bring them in at the scale and to the people without the access and the safety. So there is no answer until there’s a ceasefire,” Harris said.

A meeting in Washington between US and Israeli officials to discuss alternatives to a ground invasion of Gaza's southern city of Rafah is likely to occur next week, the White House said.

US President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call Monday to dispatch a delegation of military, intelligence and humanitarian officials to Washington to discuss the Rafah plans.

The timing of the meeting was unclear Monday, but press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday it was likely to happen early next week. She didn't have additional details on who would participate in the talks.

On Monday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the meeting was intended to bring officials together in the same room at a critical moment in the conflict.

The nonprofit that organized the first aid boat to Gaza said Tuesday that the boat's cargo of food aid has been delivered to northern Gaza. 

The roughly 200 tons of aid was delivered to northern Gaza alongside a World Food Program convoy on Tuesday morning, World Central Kitchen (WCK) said. 

Fears are mounting over hunger in northern Gaza after a United Nations-backed report published on Monday warned that famine could break out any time from mid-March to May.

The nonprofit said it has a second boat, named Jennifer, loaded with 240 tons of aid and ready to depart Cyprus. Unfavorable weather conditions have prevented the second boat from leaving the port of Larnaca, WCK said. 

Alongside canned food and bulk products, the boat has also been loaded with two forklifts and a crane to assist future aid deliveries to Gaza, according to the NGO. 

Remember: While welcoming the success of the maritime corridor into Gaza, aid agencies and the UN have warned that sea deliveries and airdrops remain much less effective methods of delivering aid than over land.  

The Israel Defense Forces sent text messages to Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday offering cash in exchange for any information about Israeli hostages.

A CNN journalist in Gaza received the message in Arabic on their phone on Tuesday stating:

The message had two phone numbers attached to it as well as a link to a website that directs one to another website with the pictures, names and ages of Israeli hostages.

Some background: Gaza is facing a humanitarian crisis following Israeli bombardment across the enclave, where most of the population is already suffering from catastrophic levels of hunger, a UN-backed report said Monday.

Following the Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel last year, the group took Israeli hostages back to Gaza, many of whom are still in Gaza. According to CNN's count last week, a total of 33 of the 130 October 7 hostages are now believed to be dead. 

UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned that Israel's sustained restrictions on aid into Gaza may amount to the war crime of starvation. 

Just one day after a UN-backed report predicted an "imminent" famine in northern Gaza, Turk pinned the blame squarely on Israel, saying the "situation of hunger, starvation and famine" in Gaza is "a result of Israel’s extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid." 

Turk also noted that as the occupying power, Israel has the responsibility to ensure and facilitate food and medical provisions as well as assist the work of humanitarian organizations.

Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations that it has been preventing aid from entering Gaza through its iron-clad controls at checkpoints. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to shift the blame for limited aid deliveries onto Hamas during a recent interview with CNN, accusing the group of looting supplies. 

"Our policy is to not have famine, but to be the entry of humanitarian support as needed, and as much as is needed," Netanyahu told CNN on Sunday.

Turk also reminded Israel on Tuesday of its obligation under international human rights law to ensure civilians in Gaza can access aid "in a safe and dignified manner."

It comes as a string of violent incidents have taken place, including allegations of Israel firing at civilians gathered to receive aid deliveries. 

RELATED

Anesthetics, crutches, dates: The aid Israel is arbitrarily keeping from Gaza | CNN