March 22, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Israel on Friday as part of an intensive diplomatic push to reach a “sustained and immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and deter an Israeli offensive into Rafah.

He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet.

His trip coincides with the resumption of talks in Doha aimed at securing a deal for a ceasefire tied to the release of the hostages held by Hamas.

It also coincides with a vote at the UN on a US-sponsored Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza conflict.

Blinken’s meetings are expected to be tense, with Netanyahu vowing to carry out an Israeli military incursion into Rafah, where more than a million people have been forced to flee.

The top US diplomat is again expected to press Israel on the urgent need for more humanitarian assistance to reach people in Gaza.

Here's what to expect from the talks.

A US-proposed United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza will be brought to a vote on Friday, US Mission to the UN spokesperson Nate Evans told CNN.

The resolution, which the US has been working on for weeks, calls for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire… in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”

The US vetoed multiple prior UNSC resolutions calling for immediate ceasefires. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after vetoing an Algerian resolution in late February that it “would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy.”

Here are the latest developments in the conflict:

The Israeli government will not send about two dozen Palestinian patients in East Jerusalem and Tel Aviv hospitals back to Gaza until Israel's Supreme Court rules on the merits of the case, according to a letter filed with the Supreme Court by the Israeli State Attorney’s Office.

The state attorney’s office has asked the court for 30 days to submit its response to a complaint filed by a group of Israeli human rights groups on behalf of some of the patients seeking to bar the Israeli government from deporting the patients during that time. 

The Israeli Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a temporary injunction to prevent that transfer until the government responded. 

The government said it has agreed not to send any of the patients back to Gaza “except for any of them who request in writing through their attorney to allow him to return to the Gaza Strip.”

The human rights groups petitioned Israel’s highest court following a CNN report about some of the patients, including mothers and babies.

The US-proposed United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza will be brought to a vote this morning, US Mission to the UN spokesperson Nate Evans told CNN on Thursday.

"After many rounds of consultations with the Security Council, we will be bringing this Resolution for a vote on Friday morning," he said. 

The US has vetoed multiple prior UNSC resolutions calling for immediate ceasefires. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after vetoing an Algerian resolution in late February that it “would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the "gaps are narrowing" between Israel and Hamas to agree on a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages, but conceded that "there’s still real challenges."

Blinken said he still believes a deal is possible, despite "difficult work to get there."

As Israel prepares for an offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, Blinken said the US believes Hamas "can be effectively dealt with without a major ground operation in Rafah.” He said a ground operation would “be a mistake," and officials will outline alternative plans when an Israeli delegation goes to Washington, DC, next week.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters he and Blinken agreed to plan "concrete steps" to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza.

The minister stated that the US and Egypt are aligned in their "total rejection of military operations in Rafah."

He said that Egypt would do "whatever is possible, whatever is required to facilitate a cessation of hostilities and an end to the military activity." 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a stern message to Qatar earlier this month: Tell Hamas that they must deliver on a hostage and ceasefire deal that would halt the war in Gaza or risk getting kicked out of the Qatari capital of Doha where senior members of the terror group are based, two US officials told CNN.

The pressure from the US came at a time when negotiations between Hamas and Israel had stalled, before Hamas came back to the table with a new set of demands which were discussed this week in Doha. The indirect talks, held between Israel and Hamas under Qatari and Egyptian mediation, were the first to be held in Doha at that level in weeks and are set to resume on Friday.

The message was delivered by Blinken to Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in a meeting in Washington on March 5, sources familiar with the matter said.

US officials said that Qatar, which has been a critical partner to the US in efforts to reach a ceasefire deal, understood the message and received it without major pushback.

Qatari officials did not comment on the specific meeting but said that they are exerting immense pressure on Hamas. It is unclear if Qatar delivered the warning to Hamas leaders.

Some background: Hamas established a political office in Doha in 2012, with senior members of the group based there permanently. As a result, Qatar plays a crucial role in the region between Hamas and other nations.

The Biden administration has been actively discussing with Qatar its relationship with Hamas since the group carried out its attack on Israel on October 7. 

Read more about Blinken's comments in Qatar.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) said Thursday that Israeli troops killed more than 140 people in the raid that began on Monday.

Israeli forces recovered weapons and intelligence documents and arrested over 600 people including senior officials with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, the agencies said. CNN cannot verify the claims of the IDF and ISA.

Hamas accused Israeli forces of “destroying many of the hospital’s capabilities, blowing up and burning the surrounding residential buildings, detaining and abusing the displaced, medical staff and patients,” in a statement Thursday.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has reiterated concerns over military operations in and around Al-Shifa.

He said a WHO mission to the hospital scheduled for Thursday had to be canceled due to security concerns

Videos of Al-Shifa: Video of the complex shows women hiding in stairwells as loudspeakers warn them that if they leave, they will be shot.

One clip, filmed through a hole in an exterior wall, shows at least 20 women and children on a staircase, but it is unclear when the video was filmed.

In separate videos filmed by Emmy Shaheen, a woman living near the hospital, she describes hearing shelling and shooting from her home.

CNN geolocated Shaheen’s home as northwest of Al-Shifa Hospital.

US Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns will join hostage talks in Qatar on Friday as negotiators work toward a deal that would secure the release of hostages held in Gaza alongside a temporary ceasefire, sources familiar with the plans said on Thursday.

The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, will travel to Qatar Friday for the talks, Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

Barnea will meet with Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel, according to the statement.

“The meeting of senior officials will be held in the framework of the negotiations in Doha, the goal of which is to advance the efforts to return the hostages,” it said.

CNN has asked the CIA for comment. 

Burns has been instrumental in trying to secure a deal on hostages, traveling several times to the Middle East and Europe for talks. The efforts have not yet yielded an agreement.

There were signs, however, that progress was being made, and US officials voiced cautious optimism this week that a deal could be reached.

In an interview on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the negotiations to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal are "getting closer.”

“I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible,” Blinken said in an interview with Saudi news channel Al Hadath in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.