Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a date for an invasion into Rafah has been set, according to a video posted on his official Telegram account.
Netanyahu didn't say what the date was.
He also said that "entry into Rafah" was necessary for a "complete victory over Hamas."
Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are estimated to be sheltering, is located in the southernmost part of the besieged enclave.
This post has been updated with more details on Netanyahu's remarks.
3:56 p.m. ET, April 8, 2024
After meeting with Blinken in DC, Israeli opposition leader says hostage deal is "doable" despite difficulties
From CNN's Michael Conte
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid speaks to reporters after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the US State Department on Monday in Washington, DC. Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “long, fruitful and thorough” on “future events and the need to work on a solution in Gaza." He said that “a hostage deal is doable.”
He described the deal as "difficult," adding that it is a "deal we might not like, but it’s doable, and therefore it needs to be made,” he said to reporters outside the State Department in Washington, DC, after meeting Blinken.
Lapid also expressed his thanks to the US for its support in Israel’s war against Hamas during “maybe the most difficult moment of our history.” The opposition leader said that Israel needs to do their best “in order to avoid hurting the people of Gaza” as calls grow for the Biden administration to impose conditions on aid to Israel.
“I think the president is obviously worried about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. I think Israel is worried as well,” said Lapid. Asked about how he would be executing the war differently if he was prime minister of Israel, Lapid said he was “uncomfortable… to discuss Israeli politics standing opposite the State Department.
More on the hostage talks: Lapid's comments come as negotiations in Cairo between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal achieved "significant progress" and consensus on many controversial points, according to Egyptian state outlet Al Qahera News, citing a senior Egyptian official. The official confirmed the "continuation of efforts to reach a truce agreement" in Gaza, according to the state outlet.
12:18 p.m. ET, April 8, 2024
White House says uptick of aid into Gaza is "progress" but must be sustained
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
The White House said Monday the uptick of aid trucks into Gaza represents progress, but that it must be increased and sustained over time to meet the humanitarian needs in the besieged enclave.
The US has pressed Israel to expand truck crossings into Gaza to between 300 and 350 a day, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. Israel announced more than 300 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Monday, the highest volume since the current conflict began.
“That’s a good start but still not up to the upper range of” what the US is pressing for, he said. “What matters is how it can be sustained over time.”
He said the Biden administration would continue pressing Israel on making changes to its deconfliction mechanism to allow aid workers to access areas of Gaza following a strike that killed several World Central Kitchen workers earlier this month. Kirby said the US continues to work its way through Israel’s investigation of the strike that killed aid workers from the World Central Kitchen, but hasn’t concluded its review of the document.
He said the date for an in-person meeting between top US and Israeli officials to discuss plans for a ground invasion of Rafah had yet to be reached, but said the US still does not see indications that a major ground invasion of the southern Gaza city is imminent.
Hostage talks: As optimism appears to grow for a deal that would secure the release of hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting, Kirby confirmed that CIA Director Bill Burns had been in Cairo over the weekend to continue a “serious round” of talks. He said a proposal had been presented to Hamas and that officials were still awaiting a response.
He said it has typically taken several days to get a response from Hamas in previous back-and-forths over a hostage agreement. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan plans to meet with families of American hostages on Monday evening, Kirby said.
11:15 a.m. ET, April 8, 2024
Lawyer for Nicaragua stresses "urgent" need for Germany to suspend arms sales to Israel during ICJ hearing
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy
Patrick Post/AP
A lawyer representing Nicaragua has stressed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) the "urgent" need for Germany to suspend arms sales to Israel, arguing this weapons supply could make the country "complicit" in alleged genocide in Gaza.
The Central American country has asked the ICJ to grant a series of provisional measures including an order for Germany to "immediately suspend" its military aid to Israel.
Alain Pellet, who is a French lawyer and professor of International Law at Paris Nanterre University, told the UN's top court that Nicaragua is "not accusing Germany of committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza" but rather "failing in its obligation to prevent and suppress the crime of genocide."
Germany, he said, "has a full understanding of the risks" that the weapons "it is furnishing Israel" may be used to commit genocide towards Palestinians in Gaza.
Pellet highlighted Article 3 of the Genocide Convention which classifies complicity in genocide as a punishable offense, arguing that Germany's military aid to Israel is "straight from the definition of ‘complicity’ set out in Article 3.”
Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, who is Nicaragua's ambassador to the Netherlands, accused German military companies of "directly profiting from the situation," telling the court that their share prices had risen in the six months of war in Gaza. Gomez maintained that the European country "can not but be aware" that the weapons it has been "supplying" Israel are being used in attacks in Gaza.
The ambassador and lawyer described the guaranteed supply of armaments from Germany as being "crucial to Israel's pursuit of the attacks on Gaza."
What happens next: With Monday's hearing now wrapped for the day, Germany's legal team is now preparing to make its case before the court on Tuesday.
CNN's Inke Kappeler in Berlin contributed reporting to this post.
10:56 a.m. ET, April 8, 2024
Progress reported in Gaza ceasefire talks as Israel withdraws from Khan Younis. Catch up on the latest
From CNN staff
Some of Khan Younis' former residents are returning home after the Israeli military announced it would withdraw its ground troops from the southern Gazan city.
Before October 7, Khan Younis was home to more than 400,000 people. Thousands of civilians fled to the city in the early days of the war, when Israel was focusing its operations on the north of the Gaza strip.
Israeli forces began operations in Khan Younis about four months ago, putting together its largest-ever division to fight what it called a Hamas stronghold. They leave behind a city that appears mostly in ruins.
Meanwhile, negotiations in Cairo between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal achieved "significant progress" and consensus on many controversial points, according to Egyptian state outlet Al Qahera News, citing a senior Egyptian official.
Catch up on top headlines in the war:
What may come next in the talks: The official confirmed the "continuation of efforts to reach a truce agreement" in Gaza, according to the state outlet. The source said the Qatari and Hamas delegations would leave Cairo and return within two days to agree to the final terms of the agreement. The US and Israeli delegations would leave within hours, though consultations would continue over the next 48 hours, the source told Al Qahera. Full details of the agreement are yet to be released.
Pressure on the right: The far-right flank of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's voiced concern over the possibility that the withdrawal in Khan Younis could precipitate a slowdown in the war against Hamas.
Concerns in Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Israel's response to the strike that killed Australian national Zomi Frankcom and six other aid workers was not satisfactory. His government has appointed a former top defense official to monitor the Israel's probe into the tragedy.
Strike over southern Lebanon: A Hezbollah special forces commander was killed in an overnight Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, the militant group and IDF both said. The Israeli military said it was "preparing to move from defense to attack" on its northern border with Lebanon, sparking fears that cross-border salvos on both sides could turn into a wider conflict.
Amputations at a field hospital: A doctor at a field hospital for detained Palestinians at an Israeli army base has described "deplorable conditions" and "routine" amputations due to handcuff injuries, according to an exclusive report from Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Pope meets with families of Israeli hostages: The Vatican said Pope Francis met with families of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Monday morning. This is the second time families have met with the Pope since October 7. The first meeting took place in November 2023, according to the Vatican.
Correction: An earlier version of this post had an incorrect population figure for Khan Younis before October 7.
12:36 p.m. ET, April 8, 2024
Khan Younis residents return to find their former neighborhoods in ruins
From CNN’s Mohammad Al-Sawalhi in Gaza, Abeer Salman and Zeena Saifi in Jerusalem, and Nadeen Ebrahim in Abu Dhabi
Residents inspect damage and remove items from their homes in the Gazan city of Khan Younis on April 7. Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Palestinians who were forced out of their homes in Khan Younis by Israel’s military offensive began returning cautiously in small numbers after Israel withdrew its ground forces on Sunday. Many found their former neighborhoods looking like a wasteland.
Video filmed by a CNN stringer showed rubble and debris strewn along the roads. Much of the city was bulldozed after months of heavy fighting and Israeli bombardment.
A view of destruction after Israeli forces withdrawal from Khan Younis. Jehad Alshrafi/Anadolu/Getty Images
Most were seen examining the ruins on foot, although some were using bicycles, trucks or donkeys for transportation. They collected kitchen items, leftover food bags and other items salvaged from the wreckage, CNN video showed. Others were seen standing atop destroyed buildings, sifting through heaps of rubble that had once been homes. “This is what has become of Gaza,” said one man, driving through the rubble on his motorbike.
The footage showed significant damage to the vast majority of buildings, including homes and mosques, with many entirely flattened. The buildings still standing were covered in soot and riddled with bullet holes and artillery damage, with facades torn down.
The city's Al Amal Hospital has been battered by the fighting there over the past four months. Jehad Alshrafi/Anadolu/Getty Images
The buzzing of Israeli drones above could be heard throughout, as well as occasional gunshots. In what appeared to be the office of a telecoms company, graffiti could be seen on the walls, including drawings of Stars of David as well as anti-Arab profanity in English.
“Gaza belongs to the Jews,” read an Arabic marking on the wall next to the logo of the Basil Tel company in eastern Khan Younis.
Case accusing Germany of “facilitating genocide” in Gaza gets underway at UN's top court
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy
Members of the German delegation sit in the courtroom as Nicaragua is set to ask the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, on April 8. Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun hearing a case accusing Germany of “facilitating genocide” in Gaza.
The two-day proceedings began at The Hague on Monday morning after Nicaragua accused Germany of violating its obligations as a signatory of the Genocide Convention through its sustained support of Israel and its war in Gaza.
Nicaraguan Ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez told the UN's top court that his government had taken the case "on behalf of the Palestinian people" who are "being subjected to one of the most destructive military actions in modern history."
Nicaragua has been a longstanding supporter of the Palestinian cause, seeing the issue as a modern-day version of the type of colonialism it suffered under Spanish rule.
Germany has strongly refuted Nicaragua's accusations that Berlin violated international humanitarian law. The German delegation will present its arguments to the court on Tuesday, the foreign office added in its post on X.
Israel is not a party to the case and will not appear the ICJ over the course of the next two days.
5:59 a.m. ET, April 8, 2024
Israeli military says Hezbollah commander killed in overnight strike
From CNN's Charbel Mallo and Niamh Kennedy
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday that an overnight strike in southern Lebanon killed Ali Ahmad Hussein, a commander in Hezbollah's special operations unit, the Al Radwan, in addition to two of the group's fighters.
The Iran-backed Islamist movement confirmed in a statement that Hussein was killed by an IDF strike.
The IDF alleged that Hussein was responsible for organizing numerous rocket launches and terror attacks against Israel and its civilians since the October 7 attack by Hamas and other militant groups based in Gaza.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire across the border since the war in Gaza broke out, prompting fears of a wider regional conflagration.
According to Lebanon’s state-owned National News Agency (NNA), the strike caused extensive damage to buildings adjacent to the targeted property. The agency added that more than 10 families had lost their homes.
5:43 a.m. ET, April 8, 2024
Australia's prime minister says Israel's findings for aid worker deaths were not "satisfactory"
From CNN’s Manveena Suri
People inspect the site where World Central Kitchen workers were killed in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on April 2. Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday that Israel's conclusions on the airstrike that killed seven aid workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, were unsatisfactory.
“We don't find the explanations to be satisfactory to this point. This is a tragedy,” he said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "We need proper accountability, we need full transparency about the circumstances and I think that is what the Australian public would expect."
Frankcom and six of her colleagues working for the World Central Kitchen charity died last week while attempting to deliver food to people starving in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the strike was a tragic case of misidentification. In its preliminary findings released on Friday, the IDF admitted to a series of botched assessments and decision-making failures that led to the targeted strikes on three cars carrying the innocent aid workers. The IDF has since fired two senior officers and reprimanded a top commander.
Albanese added that he expected retired Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin, who was appointed the role, to “be given every cooperation from the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Government.”
