April 20, 2024 - News on the Middle East conflicts

An ambulance driver was killed by Israeli settlers as he tried to transport Palestinians who had been attacked by settlers in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and an aid organization.

The ministry identified the driver as Mohammed Awad Allah Mohammed Musa, 50, and said he worked with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

He was killed by settlers who opened fire on his ambulance, PRCS told CNN. 

Another crew detained: In a separate incident, the Israel Defense Forces detained an ambulance crew at the entrance of the Thabet Thabet hospital in Tulkarm, West Bank, the PRCS reported. 

In pictures shared by the organization, the ambulance crew is seen siting inside an IDF vehicle, surrounded by soldiers. PRCS says the crew was detained and interrogated while trying to carry out humanitarian work.

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment.

Violence in the West Bank: Violence against Palestinians by extremist settlers — long a reality in the West Bank — has spiked since the October 7 attacks and during Israel's ensuing military campaign in Gaza.

The settlers, whose homes in the occupied territories are considered illegal by most of the international community, and those who support them have been subject to increasing sanctions by the United States and European Union.

Meanwhile, the IDF is currently carrying out one of its largest operations in the West Bank since the start of the war. The military said Saturday it has killed 10 "terrorists" in the ongoing raid at the Nur al-Shams refugee camp. It says eight IDF soldiers and one Border Force officer have been lightly or moderately injured in fighting.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa, by contrast, has said at least one person killed at the camp was a child, and that the operation has brought mass arrests of young people and destruction of infrastructure.

The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has flared since October 7 continued on Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces said about 10 launches were detected from southern Lebanon, and sirens were activated five times on Saturday morning.

On its Telegram channel, the IDF also said aircraft had struck a Hezbollah structure in the area of Aita al-Shaab, as well as a “terrorist who operated in Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area of Kfarkela (Kfar Kila) in southern Lebanon.” CNN cannot independently confirm the IDF claims about "terrorist infrastructure."

Later Saturday, Hezbollah said it targeted two buildings used by the IDF in Shlomi, northern Israel, in response to strikes in Aita al-Shaab and Kfar Kila. 

The militant group said the Israeli strikes targeted "civilian homes." The Lebanese National News Agency also reported a house was destroyed in the strike in Aita al-Shaab. It did not specify if the attack in Shlomi caused any casualties, according to a statement posted on Telegram. CNN cannot independently confirm the claim about homes. 

Hezbollah also said it targeted and destroyed "spy equipment" at the IDF's Hanita site on Saturday.  

Following the exchanges of fire, Hezbollah announced the death of another one of its fighters.

Hezbollah also said Saturday it targeted a military site and a gathering of IDF soldiers in the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site, which the group says is located in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Shuba Hills.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the US House of Representatives for passing a package that includes aid to Israel. 

“The US Congress just overwhelmingly passed a much appreciated aid bill that demonstrates strong bipartisan support for Israel and defends Western civilization. Thank you friends, thank you America!” Netanyahu said on social media after the vote Saturday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also thanked the House, saying he hopes the package will next pass in the US Senate, "soon with strong bipartisan support."

Posting on X, Katz thanked Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

This post has been updated with remarks from the Israeli prime minister.

The US House of Representatives passed the Israel Security Supplemental with a vote of 366-58.

Here's what the package includes:

It would also:

What's happening: The House passed a foreign aid package Saturday after many Democrats joined GOP Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday to advance the measure to a floor vote. The $95 billion package includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region. The measures now go to the Senate.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa that the US decision to veto a Palestinian request for full United Nations membership was a “blatant aggression” against the Palestinian people and against what the international community wants.

“The current American administration not only reneged on its promises and commitments, but also allowed Israel to weaken the Palestinian National Authority,” he continued.

Abbas told Wafa the positions of US President Joe Biden's administration have created “unprecedented anger” among the Palestinian people and in the region, which “could push the region towards greater instability and enhance chaos and terrorism.”

On Thursday, the US vetoed a resolution proposing the Palestinian request. In Washington, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said the US has “been very clear, consistently, that premature actions in New York, even with the best intentions, will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people,” referring to the headquarters of the United Nations.

Palestinian attempts for recognition as a full member state began in 2011. It is currently a non-member observer state, a status that was granted in November 2012.

The US currently does not have an official diplomatic relationship with the Palestinian Authority.

The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that security forces had killed 10 "terrorists" in an ongoing operation in Nur al-Shams, a refugee camp in Tulkarm, in the north of the occupied West Bank.

The IDF said eight of its soldiers and one Border Force officer were injured.

Palestinian reports: Earlier Saturday, the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, said five people had been killed during Israel's operation in Nur al-Shams. One of those killed was a child, according to Wafa, while the Palestinian health ministry said another was 16.

Wafa cited witnesses as saying the Israeli military was withholding the "bodies of the victims and preventing ambulance crews from reaching them."

Bulldozers destroyed water and wastewater networks and caused electricity outages, according to Wafa, while “dozens of youths” were detained.

The operation appears to be one of the largest in the West Bank since October 7. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday he discussed the “gravity” of the situation in Gaza with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry and efforts to step up humanitarian aid to the enclave. 

Commenting on tensions between Israel and Iran, Shoukry said they are concerned about the ongoing escalation in the region and have called on both parties to exercise restraint. 

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to at least 34,049, following more than six months of war between Israel and Hamas, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Saturday.

In the last 24 hours, 37 people have died and 68 have been injured following Israeli attacks, the ministry reported.

CNN cannot independently verify the ministry's casualty figures.

Five people have been killed during an offensive by the Israeli military in Nur al-Shams, a refugee camp in Tulkarm, in the north of the occupied West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the operation began Thursday night “to counter terrorism in Nur al-Shams; so far the forces have eliminated a number of terrorists, arrested a number of wanted persons, searched buildings and uncovered explosives.”

The operation appears to be one of the largest in the West Bank since October 7. 

Video obtained by CNN showed gunfire continuing Saturday morning, as well as further Israeli reinforcements moving towards the camp.

Wafa reported that one of those killed was a child, while the Palestinian Health Ministry said another was 16.

Wafa cited witnesses as saying that the Israeli military was withholding the "bodies of the victims and preventing ambulance crews from reaching them." CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on the operation, including this claim.

Wafa reported that the military, after launching the offensive on Thursday night, surrounded Nur al-Shams, “deploying military vehicles on all axes leading to the camp and closing the main street amid the flying of reconnaissance aircraft in the area.”

Bulldozers destroyed water and wastewater networks and caused electricity outages, according to Wafa, while “dozens of youths” were detained.

The IDF said that its soldiers “eliminated a number of terrorists, arrested a number of wanted people, uncovered explosives and axis and searched buildings.”

Video obtained by CNN showed a number of young men being bundled into Israeli military vehicles.