April 10, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

Israeli officials are scrambling to draw a sharp distinction between the Israeli airstrike that killed the children of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh and the ongoing negotiations aiming to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Two other Israeli officials said neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had been informed about the strike ahead of time.

The comments from Israeli officials come after Haniyeh suggested the airstrike was an attempt to “force Hamas to back down on its demands” at the negotiating table.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in an airstrike in Gaza on Wednesday. The IDF said it confirmed that the three operatives are the sons of the Hamas political leader, who is the chairman of the political bureau. CNN is not able to independently confirm these IDF claims.

The IDF also continues to operate in Gaza and has launched “dozens” of air airstrikes in the past day, killing a number of people it called "terrorists." It has not provided further details on reports that an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 14 people on Tuesday evening.

Here's what else to know:

Hamas indicates it doesn't have 40 hostages: Hamas has indicated it is currently unable to identify and track down 40 Israeli hostages needed for the first phase of a ceasefire deal, according to an Israeli official and a source familiar with the discussions, raising fears that more hostages may be dead than are publicly known. CNN’s record of the conditions of the hostages also suggests there are fewer than 40 living hostages who meet the proposed criteria.

Eid celebrations ruined: Before the war, Salwa Tibi used to prepare breakfast for the young children in her family, visit relatives and decorate her house in Gaza City, in northern Gaza, with balloons and lights to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. But this year, Israel’s military campaign has crushed hopes of marking the festival. Instead, the Palestinian aid worker, in her 50s, told CNN she will struggle to find enough food, clothes and shoes for her younger relatives.

Fears of Iranian attack: The Israeli army has in recent days disrupted GPS signals over a number of cities, including the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and Jerusalem, with the aim of thwarting missile or drone attacks potentially fired by Iran or Iran-backed groups in the region. The jamming caused major disruptions to daily life, sparking frustration across Israel. President Joe Biden said Wednesday the US remains stalwart in its commitment to protect Israel in the face of Iranian threats against the country. CNN previously reported that senior US officials believe an attack by Iran is “inevitable” – a view shared by their Israeli counterparts. The US has been on high alert and actively preparing for a significant attack by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region following the blasts in Syria.

President Joe Biden said the US remains stalwart in its commitment to protect Israel in the face of Iranian threats against the country.

Iran was "threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel" following the killings of Iranian generals at the Iranian consulate in Damascus last week, Biden said. "As I've told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel's security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad."

"We're going to do all we can to protect Israel's security," he said at a news conference in the Rose Garden.

CNN previously reported that senior US officials believe an attack by Iran is “inevitable” – a view shared by their Israeli counterparts. The US has been on high alert and actively preparing for a significant by Iran targeting Israeli or American assets in the region following the blasts in Syria.

The two governments are furiously working to get in position ahead of what is to come, as they anticipate that Iran’s attack could unfold in a number of different ways – and that both US and Israeli assets and personnel are at risk of being targeted.

The Israeli military said it killed three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in an airstrike in Gaza on Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) said in a statement:

The IDF said it confirmed that the three operatives are the sons of the Hamas political leader, who is the chairman of the political bureau. CNN is not able to independently confirm these IDF claims.

According to a CNN stringer in Gaza, a total of six family members of Haniyeh — three sons and three grandchildren — along with the driver of the car they were in, were killed in the airstrike.

The IDF and IAF statement did not make mention of anyone being killed in the strike except for Haniyeh's three sons.

The Hamas political leader had said earlier that three of his sons and “a number of grandchildren” had been killed in the strike near Al Shati, northwest of Gaza City.

This post has been updated with additional updates from the Israeli military.

Reporting contributed by Khadr Al-Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency.

In response to a CNN investigation into an aid delivery in Gaza on February 29 in which Israeli forces opened fire, US Sen. Chris Van Hollen urged the need for the United States to conduct an independent investigation emphasizing the need for “full transparency and accountability.”

CNN’s analysis of dozens of videos and testimonies from 22 eyewitnesses’ casts doubt on Israel’s timeline of what happened that night, when more than 100 people were killed and 700 injured.

The evidence, which was reviewed by forensic and ballistic experts, indicated that automatic gunfire began before the Israel Defense Forces said the convoy had started crossing through the checkpoint and that shots were fired within close range of crowds that had gathered for food.

US President Joe Biden said Wednesday he’s been “very blunt" and "straightforward” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the need for more humanitarian aid to Gaza, and more deliberate efforts to protect civilian life “in any action taken in the region.” 

In an interview that aired on Univision Tuesday, Biden offered one of his sharpest rebukes of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza, describing Netanyahu’s approach to the conflict as a “mistake” while calling for a halt to the fighting.

But on Wednesday, he cited “a long discussion” with Netanyahu during their phone call last week. He told reporters gathered in the Rose Garden that the Israeli leader had agreed to do several things related to getting more aid, both food and medicine, into the enclave and reducing civilian casualties in "any action taken in the region.” 

Biden would not say Wednesday if he was considering conditioning aid to Gaza, despite being asked, though the White House warned last week of “changes in our own policy,” if Israel did not take additional steps to protect human life in Gaza.

The president also cited Vice President Kamala Harris’ meeting Tuesday with the families of hostages being held in Gaza, taking the opportunity to call on Hamas to respond to a proposal to release some of the hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire.

Israel plans to “flood Gaza with aid,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, describing what he called a new phase of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip. 

US pressure on Israel played a role in Israel’s decision to begin ramping up the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, he told reporters, saying Israel’s defense establishment “takes the United States very seriously.”

COGAT, the agency charged with coordinating the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, said the daily number of trucks entering Gaza this week has doubled from last week’s numbers. However, the United Nations' main aid agency in Gaza, which tracks the flow of aid into the strip, has not reported a similar increase.

The Israeli military has not provided further details on reports that an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip killed 14 people on Tuesday evening.

Asked by CNN for comment on the reports of the strike, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was “operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities.”

“In stark contrast to Hamas' intentional attacks on Israeli men, women and children, the IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm,” the military added.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has said US President Joe Biden is “rightly pressing [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu” for a pause in fighting to allow for more humanitarian aid.

In an interview with CNN’s John Berman on Wednesday, Cameron said he agrees with Biden that a temporary ceasefire is needed. It comes after Biden offered one of his sharpest rebukes of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza during an interview Tuesday, describing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the conflict as a “mistake” and calling for a halt to the fighting.

“He is rightly pressing Netanyahu, as I have many times that we need a pause in fighting to get aid in and hostages out,” Cameron said. “That’s long been Britain’s position,” he added.