April 24, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin on Wednesday, the first proof that he survived being badly wounded during his capture on October 7.

Goldberg-Polin, then 23, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7 during Hamas’ attacks on Israel that left more than 1,200 people dead and saw more than 200 people taken hostage in Gaza.

He is shown in the undated video with part of his left arm missing several inches above the hand. 

Video filmed on October 7 showed Goldberg-Polin with his arm severely injured. A firsthand account from a young woman who was in a bunker with Goldberg-Polin when Hamas attacked said he helped to throw grenades out, before having his arm blown off from the elbow down.

The latest video shows Goldberg-Polin seated in a chair, addressing the camera directly. 

Gesturing occasionally with his injured arm, he identifies himself and gives his date of birth and parents’ names. 

He says that he has been “here for almost 200 days,” suggesting that the video was filmed shortly before Tuesday, the 200th day of the war.

This post has been updated with additional developments.

The protests on US college campuses are "not only antisemitic, but also inciting terrorism," Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.

Some background: Pro-Palestinian protests are taking place at major American universities, most prominently at New York's Columbia University, which has entered its eighth day of tense demonstrations.

Students occupying West Lawn at Columbia said they are planning on staying there until the university meets their demands of divestment from anything related to Israel.

Meanwhile, more than 130 people were arrested at New York University during a pro-Palestinian protest Monday night, which prompted the school to ask for help from the NYPD.

House Speaker Mike Johnson will meet Jewish students at Columbia today to discuss "the troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America's college campuses," his office said.

Read our live story on the US college protests here.

Israeli politicians thanked the United States on Wednesday after the Senate passed a $95 billion package that includes money for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

The long-stalled bill is now finally on the desk of US President Joe Biden, who said he would sign it into law on Wednesday.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz joined President Isaac Herzog in expressing their gratitude. "With the threats we face from across the region, Israel’s strategic relationship with the US is a pillar of our national security," Lapid said.

But on the ground in Gaza, the humanitarian catastrophe wrought by Israel’s war against Hamas is worsening.

More than 340 bodies have now been uncovered at a hospital mass grave in Khan Younis, while the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees said more than 270,000 tons of solid waste across Gaza remain uncollected. A top State Department official said that the risk of famine in Gaza is currently “very high, especially in the north.”

Here’s what you need to know:

A Palestinian excavation operation has uncovered approximately 20 additional remains at a mass grave discovered at the Nasser Medical Complex, the director of Civil Defense in Khan Younis told CNN Wednesday.

The 20 recovered remains are in addition to the 324 already recovered by the Palestinian civil defense, as previously reported by CNN. The total number of recovered remains now stands approximately at 344. 

The mass grave was discovered at the hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis by the Civil Defense workers after Israeli troops withdrew from the area.

In response to a CNN inquiry about the mass graves at Nasser Medical Complex, the Israeli military said the "claim that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) buried Palestinian bodies is baseless and unfounded."

The United Nations in a statement on Tuesday called for an "independent, effective, and transparent investigation" into the discovery of mass graves in two Gaza hospitals after they were besieged and raided by Israeli troops earlier this year.  

Huge crowds gathered in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to mark 200 days of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. 

Videos shared with CNN showed demonstrators covering their mouths with masking tape inscribed with the number "200."

Demonstrators marched through central Tel Aviv along Dizengoff Street, and visited the United States embassy along the coastline. 

Family members of hostages addressed a large crowd gathered in Hostages Square, where successive protests have been held since the October 7 attacks. 

Yamit Ashkenazi, whose sister Doron Steinbrecher is still being held in Gaza, shared her sense of guilt, saying: "I fear that when my little sister returns, right before she hugs me and breaks down, she will ask me, 'Where were you?'"

Talks between Israel and Hamas to secure the release of further hostages have so far yielded no result. During a call on Tuesday with the Israeli President Isaac Herzog, US Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated the US' commitment to secure the "release of all hostages."

A Palestinian woman has been shot dead by Israeli troops at a checkpoint in Hebron in the occupied West Bank after she allegedly tried to stab an Israeli soldier. 

The 20-year-old woman, named Maimunah Abdel Al-Hamid Harahsha, was killed by "occupation gunfire north of Hebron," the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs said Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces said "an attempted stabbing attack was thwarted against IDF soldiers at an IDF post in the area of the Okfim Junction."

"The terrorist was armed with a knife and ran toward the soldiers, who responded with fire and eliminated the terrorist. No injuries were reported," the IDF statement added. 

The UN has called for an “independent, effective and transparent investigation” into the discovery of mass graves at two Gaza hospital complexes after they were besieged and raided by Israeli troops earlier this year.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was “horrified” by the scenes reported at the Nasser and Al-Shifa complexes.

“Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators,” Turk said Tuesday.

A mass grave with 324 bodies was uncovered this week at the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis by Gaza Civil Defense workers following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area. 

Earlier in April, health workers exhumed corpses from mass graves at Al-Shifa after they said Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians and left their bodies to decompose during their two-week siege of the complex in northern Gaza.

At least 381 bodies were recovered from Al-Shifa after Israeli forces withdrew on April 1, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.

The US State Department on Tuesday expressed concern over the “troubling” discovery of mass graves.

The "reports are incredibly troubling. And we’re inquiring on this with the Government of Israel,” US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

Read the full story here.

Germany will resume cooperation with the UN's relief agency for Palestinians in Gaza (UNRWA) after the organization accepted the recommendations of an independent review of its neutrality.

The German foreign office said it was pleased that UNRWA said it would heed the recommendations of the review headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and implement them "swiftly and in full."

Some context: The review was launched after Israel alleged that a dozen of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gaza staffers were involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack.

It was not tasked with addressing the allegations but had a broader mandate to "assess whether UNRWA is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality." Israel's allegations are still under investigation by the UN.

UNRWA fired several employees after the allegations and launched an investigation, promising that anyone involved in the October 7 attacks would be held accountable.

The allegations led the US and at least 13 of its allies to pull funding for the UN agency, which provides aid and services to Palestinian refugees. Several countries have since resumed funding.

Israeli politicians have thanked the US for passing a $95 billion funding package that includes $26 billion in aid for Israel.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz joined President Isaac Herzog in expressing their gratitude on Wednesday.

Lapid thanked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell "for leading a huge bipartisan majority in support of security assistance for Israel." 

Katz said "Israel and the United States stand together in the fight against terrorism, defending democracy and our shared values."

The package will also send funding to Ukraine and Taiwan.

Read more about the package.