October 30, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

A total number of 150 aid trucks that have made it through the Rafah crossing into Gaza since the gate opened last week, according to the US State Department.

A total of 45 aid trucks went through on Sunday — the most since the gate opened, it added.

“We aim to surpass that number today, tomorrow and beyond,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Miller said the US would “continue our relentless diplomatic efforts in partnership with Israel, Egypt, the United Nations and international humanitarian partners” to increase “daily deliveries of food, water and medical supplies into Gaza.” 

Some context: Prior to October 7, there were 450 trucks going into Gaza daily, said Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian co-ordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, in a press briefing last week. She said the trucks were facing delays due to screening, technical, security and political issues.

Israeli aircraft have dropped new leaflets in Arabic over Gaza, warning people in northern and central parts of the strip that “the governorate of Gaza has become a battlefield.”

“Shelters in the north of the Gaza Strip and the governorate of Gaza have become unsafe,” according to the leaflet, an image of which has been seen by CNN. 

“Hamas and the terrorist organizations are using the shelters, hospitals and schools in this area. Therefore, your presence in these places is not safe,” the flier continued.

“You must immediately evacuate and move to the humanitarian area to the south of Wadi Gaza,” the leaflet concluded, referring to a waterway that bisects the enclave.

US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to advocate for linking Ukraine and Israel aid together despite a House GOP push for a standalone Israel package offset by cuts, a sign of the division within the most senior Republicans.

“This is a moment for swift and decisive action to prevent further loss of life and to impose real consequences on the tyrants who have terrorized the people of Ukraine and of Israel. And right now, the Senate has a chance to produce supplemental assistance that will help us do exactly that,” said McConnell while introducing Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova at an event in Louisville, Kentucky on Monday.

McConnell tied aggression against Israel and Ukraine together, telling attendees: “Think of it as an axis of evil: China, Russia, and Iran. So this is not just a test for Ukraine. It is a test for the United States and for the free world. And the path toward greater security for all of us is simple: help Ukraine win the war.”

McConnell pushed back on the members of his own party who have argued against further aid for Ukraine.

In just the past three days, 10 United Nations staff members have been killed in Gaza, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said Monday. 

That brings the total number of UNRWA staff killed in Gaza since October 7 to 63, the agency said. 

The UNRWA, which runs the “largest humanitarian operation” in the Gaza Strip, also described dire conditions at its network of schools that are sheltering displaced Gazans.

“The average number of IDPs (internally displaced persons) per shelter has almost reached four times their intended capacity,” UNRWA added. 

Overcrowded conditions “create severe health and protection concerns for IDPs and place a “heavy toll on their mental health,” the agency stressed. 

More than 511,000 people are sheltering in 92 shelters — an increase of about 13,000 internally displaced persons since the UNRWA's last update. 

Several incidents of collateral damage to UNRWA premises have also been observed in the past 72 hours, the agency said. 

Hamas Monday released a short video showing three women who are believed to be captives held by the Palestinian militant group since its terror attack on Israel on October 7.

The hostage video is only the second released by Hamas since more than 200 people were taken into Gaza after the attack earlier this month and appears intended undermine Benjamin Netanyahu with pointed criticism over his leadership by the detained women.

The video shows them seated in plastic chairs facing the camera, while the woman in the middle addresses Netanyahu directly with increasing fury. 

She makes reference to a press conference by families of the hostages “yesterday,” suggesting it was filmed on Monday.

The video comes just days after progress in hostage negotiations fell through, a fact referenced by the speaker who mentions a supposed “ceasefire.” Israeli leaders Friday dismissed talks of a breakthrough in talks as a rumor as they announced an expansion of the ground campaign.

The woman speaks fluently and does not appear to be reading from a script, but because the women are hostages, the statement could have been made under duress. 

“You promised to release us all,” she says, suggesting she is aware of hostage negotiations. 

She finishes with a demand to “free us all,” screaming: “Now! Now! Now!”

Relatives of the hostages have named the women as Yelena Trupanob, Daniel Aloni and Rimon Kirsht; Aloni is the speaker. 

The women do not show visible signs of physical mistreatment, but CNN is unable to verify anything about their circumstances or well-being. 

Netanyahu’s office confirmed the names in a brief statement, and said, "Our hearts go out to you and the other abductees. We are doing everything to bring all the kidnapped and missing people home."

Israeli television channels 11 and 12 are showing a still from the video on air. Channel 13 is not, saying on air it is honoring a request from the relatives.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commented on the Hamas hostage video, with Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari saying in a press briefing Monday that "our heart is broken by the cry of Daniel and from the faces of Yelena and Rimon who sit beside her."

Hagari said Hamas is engaging in "mindgames" by releasing the footage of the women, and noted the number of hostages believed to held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza is 238. 

Translation by Ido Soen in London. CNN's Stephanie Halasz, Richard Allen Greene and Abel Alvarado contributed to this post.

Correction: The post has been updated with the correct spelling of the names of the hostages shown in the video.

Twenty-six aid trucks have passed inspection and made their way to the Gaza Strip from Egypt, according to a CNN stringer at the Rafah border crossing. 

Meanwhile, 34 trucks are still undergoing security checks, and 15 remain to be inspected.

Remember: Rafah crossing, the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, has been touted as the last hope for Gazans to escape as Israel’s bombs rain down. It is, however, shut to the movement of people. Only aid has been allowed in the recent days. 

The head of surgery at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza — the enclave’s largest — says staff at the facility “cannot cope” with the huge number of patients they are treating, as he shared video of the chaotic scenes inside the hospital’s emergency ward. 

The video he recorded and sent to CNN shows several rows of patients lining both sides of a hospital corridor, some on stretchers, others simply lying on the floor. 

Like most specialists at the hospital, he says he is now just working in the emergency ward to help treat the many wounded that continue to arrive. 

“[It is] difficult to cope with this situation, this is horrible, the staff cannot cope with this huge number of injured people,” he says, “There’s no more space.”

Sai’ida, who is also the head of International Cooperation at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, says there are currently 8,000 people at the hospital, and called on global leaders to act to end the war.

US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a prominent Jewish Democrat and Israel supporter, warned that the plans by House Speaker Mike Johnson to advance an aid package for Israel and offset it with spending cuts threaten its chances of passage.

Typically, emergency aid packages are not offset by spending cuts and the move to do so could cost Johnson support from Democrats.

Here's Wasserman Schultz's full statement:

Some more context: Johnson vowed on Sunday to move forward with a $14.5 billion aid package for Israel when the House returns later this week, according to sources on his first GOP conference call since ascending to the top job.

Johnson’s decision to move a standalone funding bill for Israel, which he told members would be fully paid for, and detach it from Ukraine aid will tee up a showdown with the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House, which prefer to link the two issues, given Ukraine aid on its own faces an uncertain path in the GOP-led House. Johnson told CNN last week he supports Ukraine aid but needs “conditions” on it.

An escalation of the war in Gaza could plunge the whole region into chaos, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister said Monday.

“I see that there is a real race between a ceasefire in Gaza and escalation, because escalation is not only affecting Lebanon, and I fear that escalation will spread to the whole region, plunging the Middle East into chaos," Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a video interview with AFPTV.

As the war in Gaza intensifies, Hezbollah continues firing rockets toward Israel and Israeli strikes target southern Lebanon, Mikati also said his country is at the “heart of the storm … but has lived through all the wars of the region and, on the contrary, Lebanon has been the most resilient."

Lebanon has also been the site of protests as thousands rallied in support of Palestinians in Gaza following Israel’s siege and strikes on the enclave.