April 1, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

Al Jazeera on Monday condemned the Israeli decision to temporarily close down the network in Israel and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to provide any legitimate evidence to support his claims of its involvement in the October 7 attack.

The Qatar-based outlet accused Netanyahu of resorting to "inflammatory slanders" that jeopardized not only the reputation of Al Jazeera but also the safety and rights of its employees worldwide.

Here's more reaction:

The attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday may be the most dangerous escalation outside of Gaza since the start of the Hamas-Israel war nearly six months ago.

The attack is the latest in a recent string of apparent Israeli strikes in Syria that targeted the IRGC and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. So far, the attacks have not provoked a response outside the scope of months-long skirmishes on Israel’s border with Lebanon — despite repeated threats by Iran and Hezbollah’s leadership to respond to Israeli attacks in kind.

Iran’s regional allies say they entered confrontations with Israel on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza, where over 32,000 people have been killed, according to local authorities. This has boosted their regional popularity and shored up their political positions domestically. But they have sought to avoid an all-out conflagration, a relief to Washington, which has thrown its weight into preventing a regional war.

That may be an untenable position after today’s strike, which has again brought the region to the brink of an expanded war.

Biden administration officials had “no expectation” for a breakthrough with Israeli officials on the strategy for a potential ground operation in Rafah, a US official tells CNN. 

Officials from both countries participated in a two-and-a-half-hour virtual meeting on Monday. It was led by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Israel’s National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, according to a senior administration official.

The White House sees the meeting as a series of conversations between the allies that will continue over the coming weeks. “It’s not the end-all, be-all,” the official told CNN.

During the meeting, US officials pressed their Israeli counterparts for what they see as a “better alternative” to a major ground invasion into Rafah, US officials told CNN. Still, there is acknowledgment that it will ultimately be up to the Israelis to decide how to proceed with their military operation, the officials said.

Monday's talks come after working-level conversations between the two countries and a meeting between Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, last week. Following that visit, the Pentagon said Austin had stressed that Israel “should not proceed without a credible and implementable plan that ensures the safety of and humanitarian support for civilians sheltering” in the southern city.

The Biden administration has communicated its strong desire for alternatives to a major military operation — or an operation as targeted as possible — in Rafah, where more than a million Gazans have sought refuge, a US official said.

This post has been updated with new details about the meeting.

The Biden administration is close to approving the sale of as many as 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The transaction, which would amount to the largest US foreign military sale to Israel since the country went to war with Hamas on October 7, comes as the administration is also expected to notify Congress soon of a large new sale of precision-guided munitions to Israel, the people said.

The new sales of some of the US’ most sophisticated weaponry underscore the extent to which the US continues to support Israel militarily, even as Biden administration officials criticize Israel’s operations in Gaza, which have killed more than 32,000 Palestinians since October, according to the Gaza Ministry of health.

The sale is likely to be hotly debated in Congress, particularly by members of the president’s party. US weapons sales to Israel have come under intense scrutiny in recent months and Democratic lawmakers have called for restricting military aid to Israel until it allows more humanitarian aid into Gaza and does more to protect civilians there.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel in October, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, the United States has made more than 100 foreign military sales to Israel. Most of those have fallen under the specific dollar amount that requires a notification to Congress, an official familiar with the matter previously told CNN.

Iran promised a "decisive" response after a deadly strike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria, that it blamed on Israel.

Remember: Iranian ambassador in Damascus, Hossein Akbari, accused Israel of the attacks, alleging that the building “was targeted with six missiles from Israeli F-35 warplanes.” Syrian state media Syrian Arab News Agency also reported that “an Israeli act of aggression targeted on Monday afternoon a building in Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus,” causing “massive destruction.” CNN cannot independently verify the claims.

Akbari said Israel's attack was "against all international laws" and Iran "will be decisive in our response."

Seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp officials were killed in the attack, including senior Iranian commanders Mohammed Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, according to an IRGC statement.

Israel response: The Israeli military would not comment on the Damascus strike, but a military spokesperson added:

The post was updated with a comment from an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson.

Seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) officials were killed in the attack on Damascus, including senior Iranian commanders Mohammed Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, according to an official IRGC statement.

Haji Rahimi was named as the second commander killed in the attack on Iran's consulate building in the Syrian capital, according to the statement shared by state news agency IRNA on Monday night.

Haji Rahimi was reportedly a coordinator for the Quds Force, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News.

The IRGC statement also named five other officials who were killed:

That brings the total death toll to at least seven people. 

Israel's parliament approved a law on Monday that would allow the government to temporarily shut down the Al Jazeera news network in Israel.

The law gives the prime minister and the communications minister the authority to order the closure of foreign networks operating temporarily in Israel that are deemed a threat to national security.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he intends "to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel's activity," according to a post on X.

CNN reached out to the Qatar-based Al Jazeera for comment.

Separately, the United States said it will “continue to make clear” to Israel that it supports “the work that the free press does,” including Al Jazeera, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

“We think the work that the independent free press does is important everywhere in the world, and much of what we know about what has happened in Gaza is because of reporters who are there doing their jobs, including reporters from Al Jazeera,” Miller said Monday.

A top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has been killed in an airstrike on the country’s consulate building in Damascus, Syria, according to Iranian officials and state-affiliated media, which blamed Israel for the attack.

Iranian Quds Force commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi was among those killed in the incident on Monday, according to Iran's foreign ministry.

Speaking to reporters in Damascus, Iranian ambassador Hossein Akbari alleged that the building “was targeted with six missiles from Israeli F-35 warplanes.”

Akbari added that Iranian diplomatic staff and military advisers were killed in the attack, and their names will be announced later. In a separate interview later on Monday, he said two Syrian policemen were among the people injured.

CNN cannot independently verify the claims or casualty figures. 

Syrian state media Syrian Arab News Agency also reported that “an Israeli act of aggression targeted on Monday afternoon a building in Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus,” causing “massive destruction.”

Asked for comment on the incident by CNN, the Israel Defense Forces said it does not comment on foreign reports. Footage of the aftermath of the blast, published by Iranian state media Press TV, showed damage to the building, fire and smoke at the scene.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Syria also accused Israel of authoring the attack, with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian calling it a “violation of all international obligations and conventions” and demanding a “serious response by the international community. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad described the alleged attack a “gross violation of international regulations, especially the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” according to a readout of his call with Amir-Abdollahian.

Zahedi, the slain commander, was previously the commander of IRGC’s ground forces, the commander of IRGC’s air force, and the deputy commander of the IRGC’s operations.

This post was updated with more details on the casualties in Damascus.

The United Nations is planning a mission to Al-Shifa Hospital as soon as it is "allowed to help people receive medical attention and to assess the facility," the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Monday.

The announcement comes after Israel ended its 14-day siege on Gaza’s largest hospital on Monday.

At least 300 bodies have been uncovered there so far, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense, and one witness described the destructive aftermath as like a scene from a "horror movie." 

The United Nations also said a WHO team visited the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza on Sunday when a tent camp inside the compound was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

On Sunday, Martin Griffiths, the UN's under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs, called for attempts to sideline the largest humanitarian organization in Gaza — the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) — to stop.

He called UNRWA "the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza" and added in his post on X that "any effort to distribute aid without them is simply doomed to fail." He added, "No other agency has the same reach, experience or community trust needed to do the job."