Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas

US President Joe Biden called the deaths of humanitarian workers caused by Israeli strikes and the overall humanitarian situation in Gaza “unacceptable” during his phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, the White House said in a readout shortly after the conversation wrapped. 

“He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps,” the White House added.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the two leaders did not discuss Israel's investigation into the strike in detail. Kirby said that Netanyahu expressed that "he would take appropriate actions to make sure something like that couldn't happen again" once that investigation concluded.

Biden also “underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential,” the readout said, adding that the president urgent Netanyahu to "empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home.”

The leaders also discussed Iran's threats against Israel and Biden assured US support for Israel in the face of those threats, according to the White House.

This post has been updated with comments from John Kirby.

At least four Palestinians, including one paramedic, were killed after Israeli artillery fire targeted an area near a school sheltering displaced civilians in the northeastern Gaza city of Beit Hanoun on Thursday, according to Kamal Adwan Hospital paramedics.

An ambulance driver for the hospital, Abdallah Hemaid, told CNN that some civilians were scavenging in a field for plants or vegetation they could eat when Israeli artillery fire targeted the area. Hemaid said when the initial attack took place, nearby civilians rushed over to try to help the injured. But then another round of artillery fire killed three people and injured several children, all from the same family, he said.

Two ambulances with four paramedics from the Kamal Adwan Hospital headed to the area when a third round of artillery fire erupted, killing one of the paramedics and critically injuring three others, he added.

Graphic video obtained by CNN showed the critically injured paramedics arriving at the hospital, blood splattered on their faces and body. Dead bodies can also be seen wrapped in white cloth on the floor, with civilians and paramedics hovering around them crying.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has concluded its initial investigation into the deadly strikes on the World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy, an Israeli official told CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were set to be briefed on the findings on Thursday, the official added.

The IDF said that it’s planning to publish the details of the preliminary investigation imminently.

A call between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has concluded, a US official said. 

It marked their first conversation since the deadly Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen in Gaza.

More about the call: The call was arranged after the deaths of the aid workers, per a source familiar. CNN reported Wednesday that in the aftermath of those deaths, Biden was “angry” and “increasingly frustrated” – and fully prepared to make all of that known to Netanyahu in their conversation, according to a senior administration official.

White House officials have emphasized in the wake of the aid workers’ deaths that the US’ stance in supporting Israel’s current military operation remains unchanged.

There has simply been no “shift in policy,” the senior administration official said. “What there has been is a shift in the president’s frustrations.”

Biden is also expected to discuss with Netanyahu a number of other issues in addition to the need to better protect humanitarian aid workers in Gaza.

Najdat Mohammed Saqer greets his patient with a warm smile. Palestinian flags decorate his makeshift clinic inside a tent in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, which is held down by cement blocks and neatly laden with medical equipment.

The Gazan health worker told CNN he was forced to shut down his dental center in Nuseirat refugee camp, after Israel's bombardment damaged the area in northern Gaza and forced locals to flee.

Saqer returned to the site of his old clinic to gather whatever was left of his equipment. These days, he provides dental services to displaced Palestinians for patients in the backyard of his home in central Gaza. Israel's siege has drastically diminished water and electricity supplies. Saqer must rely on limited solar energy.

“We were born on a struggling land, and we will never surrender. We will rebuild it, in God’s will.”

The parents of dual American-Canadian citizen and World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid worker Jacob Flickinger told "CBS Mornings" that after receiving a call earlier this week from the embassy they have not heard from the United States or Canadian governments about the circumstances around his death.

His mother, Sylvie Labrecque, is Canadian and his father, John Flickinger, is American.

“We haven’t been told anything by the United States government or the Canadian government. All we know is what we’ve read and seen on the media,” said John Flickinger, Jacob’s father.

He added later: “Someone from the embassy in Jerusalem called the day that Jacob was killed. I haven’t heard from anyone since.” 

“He was hesitant to go. He’s a new father,” Flickinger said. “But he felt the need.”

The US State Department said Wednesday that they have reached out to Jacob Flickinger’s family to offer condolences and assistance.  

The Israeli military struck targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday following "several" cross-border attacks from Hezbollah, the Israel Defense Forces said.

In a statement, Hezbollah said they struck the headquarters of the IDF’s Liman Battalion with artillery shells at 1:45 p.m. local time (6.45 a.m. ET) on Thursday.

Democratic US Sen. Chris Coons, a close ally of President Joe Biden, told CNN Thursday that for the first time he is open to applying conditions to aid for Israel, after an Israeli military strike killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen in Gaza earlier this week.

Coons, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted, "I've never said that before. I've never been here before." He noted that the US needs to make clear to the people of Israel "that we want to and will continue to have a strong and close relationship with Israel," but Netanyahu's tactics do not reflect "the best values of Israel or the United States."

Coons' comments come as Biden is expected to speak to Netanyahu Thursday and express his frustration over the death of the aid workers.

Some pregnant women in Gaza are discharged one or two hours after delivering their babies and essentially as soon as they can walk after a C-section, said Dr. Amber Alayyan with Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF).

In a briefing Thursday, MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, highlighted the destruction of the women’s health care system in Gaza since Israel started bombarding the strip.

There’s only one hospital available for women to give birth, compared to the many hospitals that were available to them before the war began, said Alayyan, the group's deputy program manager for the Middle East whose team coordinates activities in Gaza.

Malnutrition and lack of access to clean water are exacerbating the conditions for these vulnerable women and children, Alayyan added, explaining that many women are not nourished enough to produce breast milk, which puts their babies at risk of malnutrition, too.

Formula is also in short supply. “In order to use formula you need to have clean water, and none of these things are possible in Gaza right now," Alayyan said.