April 16, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

After Iran closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday for "security considerations," Rafael Grossi, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general, told CNN that its inspectors are back in the facilities and the "situation seems to be business as usual."

He also noted that the situation was "extremely tense" over the weekend.

Israel’s war cabinet met again on Tuesday to discuss Israel’s response to Iran’s drone and missile attack.

Grossi said the IAEA believes that in times of conflict, the targeting of nuclear facilities "could be perhaps tempting for a military decision-maker — It will be a terrible mistake with potentially very serious consequences."

He added that he does not have "any information or any indication that there is planning on the part of Israel or any other state to be targeting nuclear facilities." Grossi said the agency is still on alert and that "there should be extreme restraint on everybody's side." 

Iran has long held that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes, despite skepticism from the international community.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Treasury would use its sanctions authority and work with allies to "continue disrupting the Iranian regime's malign and destabilizing activity."

 Speaking in a news conference in Washington, DC, Yellen said:

Her comments Tuesday come as global finance ministers and central bank governors gather in Washington for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings.

Sources in Washington told CNN they expect Israel's response to Iran's retaliatory strikes on Sunday to be limited in scope, as US officials seek to minimize the threat of a wider regional war.

In Gaza, Israeli attacks have killed at least 46 Palestinians over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health there reported on Tuesday, raising the total death toll to 33,843 people.

Here are the latest developments:

The US Navy has spent nearly $1 billion on munitions to thwart “over 130 direct attacks” on US military and merchant ships in the Middle East over the past six months, the US Navy Secretary said Tuesday.

US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro urged lawmakers on Tuesday to pass the supplemental national security package to replenish munitions.

“The munitions that are critical to these counterstrikes are extremely important to the Department of the Navy," Del Toro said.

"We currently have approaching $1 billion in munitions that we need to replenish at some point in time. So therefore, the over $2 billion that’s provided for in the supplemental is direly critical to our Navy and Marine Corps to be able to replenish those munitions and continue to provide the types of defensive measures that we have this past six and a half months now.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with his Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi about regional tensions in the Middle East, after Tehran launched retaliatory strikes from its soil directly on Israel for the first time.

The Kremlin described an “aggravated situation," after Israel and its allies intercepted missiles released by Iran over the weekend. Tehran said the attack was in response to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus, Syria, earlier this month.

Putin “expressed the hope that all parties will show reasonable restraint and will not allow a new round of confrontation, fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region.”

“In turn, Ebrahim Raisi noted that Iran’s actions were forced and limited in nature. At the same time, he emphasized Tehran’s disinterest in further escalation of tensions,” the Kremlin added.

A meeting between Israeli war cabinet officials over their response to Iran's retaliatory strikes has concluded, an Israeli official told CNN. The source did not give any additional details about the talks.

The discussion, which began 12:30 p.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET), was the fifth set of talks held by the war cabinet since the weekend, when Tehran launched a barrage of missiles in retaliation to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus, in Syria.

Regional leaders and allies of Israel have called for restraint as Israel plans its response, in high-stakes efforts to minimize a wider escalation over Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

The Israeli military says it has killed a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon.

It added that "Ismail served as a senior and veteran official in several positions of Hezbollah's military wing. His current rank is equivalent to a brigade commander."

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah confirmed in a statement that Ismail had been killed in southern Lebanon. 

A young Palestinian girl hungrily bites into a meat-filled wrap at a displacement shelter in southern Gaza, her eyes wide with gratitude.

In another scene from the Instagram video, posted by Hamada Shaqoura in March, the girl feeds a little boy the same sandwich. Their shadows dance in the golden glow of the Gazan sun.

Shaqoura, a Palestinian food blogger displaced in the Gaza Strip, says he cooks on a gas stove and distributes meals using tinned food from aid parcels and other fresh ingredients, to bring joy to displaced children.

“I wanted to make new things for a change and to present new flavors. When I made my first attempt and saw the children's happiness... I was pleased and felt that as a food blogger, I could provide something of value under these difficult circumstances,” the 32-year-old told CNN on April 6.

Shaqoura, who is displaced with his 25-year-old pregnant wife, Lamis, started posting viral clips of his creations on social media. He cooks a variety of dishes ranging from tuna stew, beef tacos and pasta. Israel’s severe restrictions on aid entering Gaza have drained essential supplies, exposing the entire population of more than 2.2 million people to the risk of famine.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed with his Israeli and Iranian counterparts upholding "tranquility and peace," as world leaders seek to contain the risk of a wider regional war.

Shoukry told CNN’s Becky Anderson that the tit-for-tat reciprocal targeting between Israel and Iran is “in no way conducive to dealing with the long-standing issues and conflicts in the region.”

Regional tensions flare: It came after Iran launched a salvo of strikes on Israel over the weekend, in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on Tehran's consulate in Damascus, in Syria. As Israeli officials discuss their response, regional officials and Israel's allies have warned against an escalation in tensions over Israel's military offensive in Gaza. Talks on securing a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza are ongoing, according to Shoukry. 

Israeli offensive in Rafah: Israel has delayed plans for an expected ground invasion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where most Palestinians were forced to flee Israel's bombardment. When asked if Egypt could temporarily allow the entrance of Gazan refugees in the wake of military action in Rafah, Shoukry said Egypt will continue to act in the best interests of the Palestinian people. The mass displacement of Palestinians caused by Israeli military action in Rafah would amount to "a war crime," he added.