April 3, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

A statement signed by 13 leading humanitarian and human rights organizations Wednesday called for urgent international action to stop Israel from escalating military operations in Rafah. If unstopped, the groups warn, the already dire humanitarian consequences in the southernmost Gaza city could be catastrophic.

The agencies — including Save the Children, Amnesty International and Oxfam International — underscored that despite a recent United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and additional provisional measures from the International Court of Justice, Israeli military operations in Rafah continue.

The planned Israeli ground offensive in the city threatens the lives of more than a million civilians, most who have been displaced with limited access to essential services and nowhere safe to seek refuge.

The statement also emphasizes the absence of a viable civilian evacuation plan. Under international humanitarian law, Israel is obligated to ensure the safety and well-being of displaced civilians, yet no safe havens exist within or outside Gaza, the statement notes. Moreover, previous "safe zones" have been targeted by Israeli forces, jeopardizing the lives of civilians and aid workers alike. Israel has denied targeting civilians.

Even as US President Joe Biden issued a statement expressing frustration and outrage over the deaths of the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, the administration reiterated its support of Israel’s war against Hamas — while also warning that Israel is not doing enough to protect civilians in the Palestinian enclave.

Kirby’s comments come after the deaths of the workers who were attempting to deliver food to starving civilians in the besieged enclave — including a dual US-Canadian citizen – which has raised the frustration for Biden and his top officials to a new level, a senior administration official told CNN.

When pressed by CNN’s MJ Lee about whether the White House still supports how Israel is prosecuting the war, Kirby said the administration has been clear and public about its objections but would not go so far as to withdraw its support.

“I want to make it clear that while we take issue with aspects of how operations are being conducted, particularly like saying, quite frankly, publicly, we don't support a ground operation in Rafah, we also continue to believe and continue to act on the belief that Israel has a right to defend itself against the still-viable threat by Hamas,” Kirby said.

The family of John Chapman, one of the three British nationals killed in an Israeli military strike on an aid convoy in Gaza, said they are “devastated” by his death. 

The family of the British citizen, who was a security team member for the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, said he “was loved by many and will forever be a hero.” 

“He will be missed dearly,” the statement added. 

The White House is looking to have an in-person meeting with senior officials from Israel next week on potential military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah after holding a virtual meeting earlier this week. 

Following Monday’s meeting, a US official told CNN that the two delegations discussed the situation in Rafah, and that US officials presented to their Israeli counterparts alternatives to a major ground operation into southern Gaza. 

After the meeting ended, a US official told CNN that US President Joe Biden's administration had “no expectation” there would be a breakthrough, and the White House saw the meeting as only the latest in a series of discussions that will continue in the coming weeks about a possible Israeli ground offensive into the southern Gaza city.

Monday’s meeting lasted for more than two-and-a-half hours, and those participating from the US side included national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer and White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk.

Remember: A previously scheduled meeting was called off by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the United States declined to block a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held captive by Hamas — signs of the ever-simmering tension between Israel and its most powerful ally.

British aid worker James Kirby, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, was a caring man and military veteran, according to his family.  

“He was selfless; he would help anybody,” Kirby's cousin, Adam McGuire, told CNN affiliate ITV on Wednesday.

Kirby was part of the World Central Kitchen’s security team and died in the Israel Defense Forces strike that killed seven aid workers on Monday. He had previously served in the British Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Bosnia, his cousin said.

“This is one of the reasons he felt he had to go and work with World Central Kitchen. He knew he had to go, his friends were telling him this was probably a bad place to go, but he knew he had to go and help people and that was James all over, he just didn’t think of himself,” he added.

A deadly Israeli attack that killed seven aid workers from the nonprofit World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza on Monday appears to have consisted of multiple precision strikes, a CNN analysis of aftermath videos and images found.

WCK said in a statement Tuesday that its team was traveling in a “deconflicted zone” in two armored cars and one unarmored vehicle, after dropping off more than 100 tons of food supplies at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, when the attack occurred. The charity said it had coordinated the convoy’s movements with the Israeli military.

CNN geolocated video and imagery of all three destroyed vehicles, at least one of which was clearly marked with a WCK logo on its roof, to two positions on the strip’s Al Rashid coastal road, and a third location on an off-road area of open ground nearby. The first location is around 2.4 kilometers (about 1.5 miles) from the third, indicating that the three vehicles were hit by separate strikes.

The first vehicle, which appeared to have suffered the least damage, was geolocated on Al Rashid street just outside Deir al-Balah. The second car, which was clearly fire damaged with a hole through its WCK-marked roof, was located around 800 meters down the same road. CNN geolocated the third car, which seems to be the “soft skin” or unarmored vehicle referenced in WCK’s statement and appeared to be the most heavily damaged, to an open field 1.6 kilometers from the second car.

Read more about the World Central Kitchen convoy attack.

Family members of the hostages held in Gaza stormed into a gathering of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Wednesday. 

Video posted to X by the Knesset showed family members stepping over seats and putting handprints in yellow paint on the glass above the parliament.

Other protesters stood with yellow paint on their hands and held their hands up, the video shows.

Opposition members of the Knesset joined them, chanting "now, now," according to a statement posted on the official X page.

The protesters left shortly after entering the public gallery, after one man was forcibly removed by security. Some left pictures of hostages on seats, which are still visible on the Knesset's live feed. 

In January, family members of hostages held in Gaza also entered the Knesset's main room while members were in session. 

This post has been updated with more details on family members leaving the gallery.

More humanitarian assistance and "proper deconfliction" that would allow the movement of aid within Gaza are essential for those who remain in the enclave, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Wednesday. 

Cameron also denounced the "dreadful events" that led to the death of seven humanitarian workers who were delivering aid, including three British citizens. 

Cameron said he welcomes what the Israeli ambassador to London told him on Tuesday about "a full, urgent and transparent inquiry," after being summoned over the killing of the World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza. "We want to see this happen very, very quickly," he added.

The foreign minister reiterated his commitment to getting aid into Gaza, saying it was "essential" and that Britain would be watching "very closely" to ensure it happens.

Former UK security adviser and member of the British House of Lords Peter Ricketts said the country should stop selling weapons to Israel.

“A country that gets arms from the UK has to comply with international humanitarian law – that’s a condition of the arms export license. So, honestly, I think the time has come to send that signal,” he added.

In response to the remarks, a UK government spokesperson said: “We keep advice on Israel’s adherence to International Humanitarian Law under review and will act in accordance with that advice. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria."

Some background: Last year, Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps told the House of Commons that the UK’s "defense exports to Israel are relatively small—just 42 million pounds ($56.7 million) last year,” he said in November 2023, adding that such exports "go through a very strict criteria before anything is exported."